Single Sign on Solutions

¶ … Sign-On Solutions

In any business computing environment, a business must often make a tradeoff between security and ease of use. Allowing end users access to all company systems can create a security nightmare. At the same time, restricting access by requiring separate sign-ins for each system can be time consuming, frustrating, and ultimately expensive and difficult to maintain. Multiple usernames and passwords place a heavy burden on users who must remember these, and on administration that must reset and maintain passwords and multiple authentication lists.

Single Sign-On Solutions

One common solution to the problem of balancing security and convenience is the single sign-on solution. A single sign-on solution simply refers to the ability of a user to sign onto multiple applications using a single password. This can occur in a number of scenarios, including business intranets and Internet applications. Security in this situation is maintained by creating a strong username and password combination. The company's computer system then uses this combination to allow this authentication to allow access to all other applications (Jones).

Applications for Single Sign-On Solutions in Business

In the business environment, single sign-on solutions are often dictated by the organizational type. Small companies often run on a small number of platforms, thus making the use of a single sign on solution relatively easy. Further, these companies have fewer employees, thus potentially reducing security risks for single sign on. In a larger corporate environment, a company may use tens of different systems. This often makes access using a single sign-on solution extremely difficult. As such, some systems often must be excluded from a single sigh-on solution (Tervo).

Types of Solutions

There are a number of single sign-on solutions available, beyond the simple username and password model. Smart cards and bio-identification systems offer more security are new technologies that can be effectively used in a single sign-on situation. Bio-identification can include voice, face, fingerprint, or iris pattern recognition (Jones).

Cost is an important factor in many single sign-on solutions. This is especially the case for smaller companies, where solutions like a separate client and server architecture can be cost prohibitive (Tervo).

Security Risks and Safeguards

Single sign-on solutions that rely on a single password and username often leave the system open to security issues. Users are often casual about giving their password and username to other employees and contractors. Further, users often write down their username and password combination and leave it in an easily accessible place. In addition, many users simply walk away from their computer without signing off, leaving the system open to anyone with physical access to their computer (Jones).

Smart cards and bio-identification systems have the advantage of increasing user confidence, and reducing the cost of administrative maintenance of passwords and authentications. At the same time, they can increase security by requiring more user identification, and offering more convenience of users (Jones).