Scaling organizations face numerous challenges when managing user identities and access to various applications and systems across their growing estate.

With cyberattacks proliferating to unprecedented heights, organizations on a growth journey must implement more robust security measures that safeguard sensitive data while ensuring efficient access for authorized users. Enter Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – two key solutions that can both streamline access to critical systems and data for more geographically dispersed users, while minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry.

Integrating these two technologies with identity access management (IAM) systems can significantly enhance an organization’s security posture and minimize its chances of granting unlawful access.

Understanding SSO, MFA, and IAM

Before delving into their benefits, it’s important to break down their key features and purposes.

1. Single Sign-On (SSO): SSO is an authentication mechanism that allows users to access multiple services and resources using a single set of login credentials. Only one login is required and no repeat authentication method is required.
2. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA is a security verification process that prompts users to provide two or more factors to gain access to a system or resource, after entering their login details. This could usually materialize as an OTP (one-time password), PIN code, biometric data, or clicking an email link to an authorized address.
3. Identity Access Management (IAM): IAM refers to a framework of technologies, policies and processes that organizations use to manage identities and control user access to their library of resources.

The Synergy of SSO and MFA in IAM

Integrating both SSO and MFA into an IAM framework creates a powerful combination that addresses many challenges faced by firms when managing and controlling user access.

Here are some of the benefits of an MFA-SSO combo:

1. Improved Security and UX 

Combining SSO and MFA within an IAM system provides overall security and user experience (UX) benefits. For organizations trying to create a more consistent, secure and user-friendly experience across all touchpoints for their staff and customers in light of evolving digital marketing trends, capitalizing on solutions that can check many different boxes will prove vital.

SSO provides convenience by reducing the number of credentials a user needs to remember – password weakness and constant reuse are common security flaws, with attackers frequently exploiting systems this way. However, it also creates a single point of failure if those credentials are compromised, and MFA can reinforce this with additional security layers.

Even if SSO credentials are found, the additional verification factors mandated by MFA would need to be approved. With MFA in place, the risk of phishing attacks, business email compromise (BEC) and brute force attacks is significantly reduced.

Advanced IAM systems can utilize both SSO and MFA to implement risk-based authentication, where the level of verification and access control are aligned, based on factors like user location, device and seniority.

2. Easier Compliance

Many businesses are bound by industry regulations and data protection laws. The combination of MFA and SSO helps organizations meet increasingly stringent compliance requirements, with SSO providing a central point for logging access attempts across multiple resources.

Audit trails are then easier to generate and review to filter out legitimate and fraudulent attempts. MFA is a valuable and approved reinforcement method, with regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR all valuing strong, estate-wide authentication protocols.

In turn, an IAM system backed up with SSO and MFA provides more top-level visibility and control over user access, facilitating compliance with the principle of least privilege.

3. Simplified Access Management

Implementing MFA and SSO within an incumbent IAM framework can simplify the processes of accessing data and files. SSO allows administrators to manage user access to multiple applications from a single centralized point, reducing the need for granting and removing individual user provisions. With SSO, users only need to remember one set of credentials, reducing the risk of password fatigue and reusing weak passwords for multiple resources.

This also helps when employees depart or join the organization – IT teams can grant or revoke access to multiple systems through a central platform.

4. Cost Reduction

Utilizing the right IAM, SSO and MFA solutions can lead to substantial cost savings for organizations. With fewer passwords to manage, fewer password reset requests and support tickets will need to be raised. Productivity can be enhanced as users can spend less time logging into multiple separate systems, while IT teams can dedicate more time to long-term strategic initiatives. With MFA providing valuable security reinforcement, the risk of costly security incidents and data breaches is drastically lowered.

5. Scalability and Flexibility

Organizations can leverage the trio of IAM, SSO and MFA to scale with their growth. As they adopt new technologies and enter new markets, their IAM needs will evolve. As such, SSO and MFA integration provides more flexibility to adapt to new changes, covering both on-premises and cloud environments, with access control consistent across a diverse IT estate.

Advanced IAM systems with both SSO and MFA enabled can support numerous authentication protocols, including SAML, OAuth, and OpenID, enabling seamless integration with more applications and services.

Best Practices for Implementing SSO and MFA in IAM

Organizations should take the following steps to maximize the benefits of an integrated MFA and SSO approach in their IAM framework:

1. Conduct a risk assessment to identify appropriate assets and corresponding authentication levels for specific resources and user roles.
2. Choose the right MFA and SSO solutions that integrate well with your existing infrastructure and support your specific needs.
3. Develop more robust password policies to limit repetition across logins and reinforce strong character combinations and minimum lengths to meet evolving security etiquette.
4. Provide upskilling and training on the importance of adopting stronger site-wide security measures, and on how to use SSO and MFA effectively.
5. Keep all components of your IAM system, and MFA and SSO integrations updated with new security patches to contain evolving vulnerabilities.
6. Regularly review access logs and history to detect anomalies and suspicious activity.
7. Develop and test backup authentication methods in case primary MFA factors are no longer available.

Next Steps

It’s clear that SSO and MFA both offer a valuable addition to an already established IAM framework, addressing complex challenges of user identity management and access. They can help organizations scale effectively, conserve valuable resources, improve their security posture, and provide much-needed productivity enhancements.

Looking ahead, cyberthreats will only continue to evolve in severity, frequency and sophistication. As such, implementing strong security authentication and efficient access control for better identity management will only grow in importance. Use the guidance here to develop a strong foundation for IAM, with both SSO and MFA providing valuable additions to your multi-layered security strategy. Organizations that embrace these solutions and implement them effectively, while being mindful of new changes and recommendations, will be best placed to meet new IAM challenges and maintain continued stability.