IAM glossary
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Federation ofidentity

What is a federation ofidentity ?

Identity federation is an identity and access management model that enables separate organizations to securely share identification and authentication information with each other. It aims to simplify and secure user access to different systems and services, while preserving confidentiality and ensuring appropriate control over the resources they can access.

Identity federation is a system or protocol that enables an organization to offload authentication tasks by entrusting them to a third-party organization.

This model enables several organizations to securely shareidentity information about their users. It is based on the principle of mutual trust between participating organizations:

  • The Service Provider (SP): the application offering the service.
  • Identity Provider (IdP): the entity that performs authentication.

When a user wishes to access a service provided by a partner organization, he or she is directed to the Identity Provider forauthentication.

The IdP verifies the user'sidentity using the credentials provided.

Once authentication has been successfully completed, the IdP transmits the necessary information to the Service Provider (SP) to authorize access to the requested services, without the user having to provide his or her credentials again.

The identity federation facilitates the secure sharing of information fromidentity and offers a simplified user experience when accessing the services of federation partners.

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