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Identity as a Service (IDaaS) is identity, credential, and access management delivered to customers as a cloud software service. It can provide capabilities such as single sign-on (SSO), multifactor authentication (MFA), and directory services, but the exact bundle differs by provider. Using IDaaS can shift some identity-software operations to a provider; it does not remove the customer’s responsibility for its applications, authenticators, or security decisions.
What does Identity as a Service mean?
NIST defines identity as a service as a company offering identity, credential, and access management (ICAM) services to customers through a software-as-a-service cloud model. NIST’s definition appears in NISTIR 8335, which focuses on authentication for public safety organizations. The term IDaaS is used across the industry, but it does not describe one universally fixed set of features.
A common IDaaS platform combines SSO, MFA, and directory services, as described in the Cloud Identity Playbook. Some services may also include identity proofing or access-control functions. Check what a particular offering actually includes rather than assuming that every product labeled IDaaS provides the same capabilities.
How does IDaaS authentication work?
In a typical federated login, an identity provider (IdP) authenticates a user and sends an assertion to a relying party (RP), often an application. The RP verifies the assertion and establishes an authenticated session. When multiple applications trust the same IdP, a user may be able to access them without separately authenticating to each one; this is a familiar SSO experience.
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- The user tries to sign in to an application that relies on the IdP.
- The application directs the user to the IdP for authentication.
- The IdP checks the user with the configured authentication method and, if successful, sends an assertion to the application.
- The application validates the assertion and applies its own access policy before creating a session.
Federation and SSO are related, but they are not interchangeable terms in every deployment. Federation is the trust arrangement that lets separately administered systems accept identity information from one another. SSO describes a user-facing sign-in experience that may use that arrangement. NIST’s Cloud Federation Reference Architecture describes the underlying challenge: credentials in one identity domain do not automatically have meaning in another. Federation connects those domains through agreed identity, trust, and access policies.
What changes when an organization uses IDaaS?
An organization may hand off some or most of the creation, installation, and maintenance of ICAM software to a cloud provider. That is a shift in operating responsibilities, not a transfer of every identity responsibility. NISTIR 8335 notes that customers remain responsible for matters such as the authenticator lifecycle and the applications that rely on the identity provider.
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Before adopting a service, document who owns each task: the provider, the customer, or both. Include account administration, authenticator issuance and replacement, application configuration, incident response, and recovery processes in that division. The precise split depends on the service and contract.
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Choose capabilities against the applications and risks the organization actually has. NIST’s current digital identity guideline series is SP 800-63-4; its federation volume, SP 800-63C, addresses federation and assertions. NIST treats federation as a multi-party process with security and privacy characteristics that need to be assessed in the deployment. Its general digital identity guidance also frames authentication assurance in relation to risk, rather than prescribing one method for every service.
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- Application integration: Are the organization’s applications supported, and how are integrations configured and maintained?
- Federation and trust: Which protocols and standards are supported? How are keys, assertions, and trust relationships configured, protected, and updated?
- Authentication choices: Which methods and assurance options are available, and do they fit the risks of the services being protected?
- Recovery and lifecycle: How are account recovery, lost or replaced authenticators, and authenticator lifecycle responsibilities handled?
- Privacy: Which user attributes are shared with applications, for what purposes, and what controls govern that sharing?
- Resilience and support: What availability commitments, support arrangements, and outage procedures are documented?
- Responsibility and exit: Which tasks stay with the customer, and how can identities, configurations, or relevant data be handled if the service is changed or ended?
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What IDaaS does not guarantee
- A standard feature set: The IDaaS label alone does not tell you which capabilities or integrations a service includes.
- Automatic trust between systems: Applications and identity providers need configured trust, compatible standards, and agreed policies for federation to work.
- Complete outsourcing of identity risk: Customers retain meaningful duties, including oversight of dependent applications and authenticator lifecycle.
- A particular level of savings or security: NISTIR 8335 discusses potential benefits such as cost savings and agility, but does not quantify them as guaranteed outcomes. Results depend on the organization’s implementation and operating model.
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