ID Federation Gateway for Seamless Multi-Service Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network service providers face challenges in efficiently implementing federated identity solutions across multiple services, leading to redundant user authentication processes that waste resources and diminish user experience, as existing methods require modifying each service provider's internal authentication procedures.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that determine whether a user should be identified by the service provider or a different party, facilitating the use of identification data from the different party and sending user credentials to the service provider's authentication process for seamless access to multiple network resources, utilizing an ID federation gateway to abstract third-party interactions and reduce computational resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If federated identity is implemented by modifying each service provider's internal authentication procedures, then user access to multiple services is enabled, but system complexity and implementation difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a federated identity gateway as an intermediary component that mediates between service providers and identity providers. The gateway intercepts authentication requests, redirects users to appropriate identity providers, and receives authentication responses. This intermediary approach enables federated identity functionality without requiring modifications to each service provider's internal authentication code, thus reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability across multiple services
2Reliability
If traditional authentication is used for each service, then each service maintains independent security control, but users must authenticate multiple times wasting network resources and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary authentication action by establishing user identity through a federated identity provider before accessing individual services. The gateway determines the user's identity domain and routes authentication through the appropriate federated identity provider once. The authentication result is then recognized across multiple services, eliminating redundant authentication steps while maintaining security control through the federated identity framework
3Ease of manufacture
If federated identity gateway is introduced to abstract third-party interactions, then modification of existing authentication systems is minimized, but new system components and integration complexity are added
Solution Approach 1:
The federated identity gateway is designed as a universal component that handles multiple authentication protocols and identity provider types through a standardized interface. It can manage both internal corporate identity providers and external third-party identity providers using the same gateway infrastructure. This multi-functional design reduces the need for separate integration components for different identity providers, thereby easing implementation while controlling overall system complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques for an ID federation gateway include determining whether a user associated with a request for a particular network resource is to be identified by the provider of the particular service or by a different party. The service also comprises causing the different party to provide identification data that indicates an identity for the user, if the user is to be identified by the different party. The method further comprises causing user credentials data, based on the identification data, to be sent to an authentication process of the provider for a set of one or more network resources that includes the particular network resource requested by the user, if the data indicates that the user is successfully identified.