Third Party Client Authentication System Simplification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional third-party authentication systems face complexity and redundancy due to the need for multiple pluggable external authentication modules to support various credential types, as each third-party authenticator may support different credential types, leading to inefficient system design and increased complexity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where the authentication server requests and receives supported credential types from third-party authenticators and sends this information to the client, allowing the client to select the appropriate credential type and use a corresponding pluggable external authentication module to perform authentication, thereby simplifying the process and reducing redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple pluggable external authentication modules are created for each credential type of each third party authenticator, then all credential types can be supported, but system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal authentication module that can handle multiple credential types (password, certificate, token, biometric) through a standardized interface. This single module replaces the need for multiple specialized modules, reducing system complexity while maintaining support for diverse authentication methods across different third party authenticators
Solution Approach 2:
The authentication system is segmented into distinct functional components: a credential type identification module that determines the appropriate authentication method, and a universal authentication module that executes the authentication. This segmentation allows the system to handle different credential types through a unified architecture rather than requiring separate modules for each credential type
2Reliability
If a specific pluggable authentication module is created for each credential for each third party authenticator, then precise authentication can be achieved, but redundancy increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single universal authentication module is designed to perform multiple authentication functions for different credential types and third party authenticators. The module uses a standardized interface and credential type identification mechanism to achieve the reliability of specialized modules without the redundancy of having separate modules for each credential-authenticator combination
3Productivity
If the authentication server stores user credentials internally, then authentication can be performed without third parties, but security risks increase due to credential storage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the credential storage function from the authentication server and relocates it to external third party authenticators. The authentication server maintains only the authentication logic and credential type identification, while user credentials are stored and managed by trusted third parties. This extraction eliminates the security risk of credential storage at the authentication server while maintaining authentication functionality
Solution Approach 2:
Third party authenticators serve as intermediaries between the authentication server and user credentials. The authentication server communicates with these intermediaries to verify credentials without directly storing them. This intermediary layer protects user credentials from exposure at the authentication server while enabling efficient authentication through the standardized interface
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Methods and systems for third party client authentication of a client. A method includes displaying a user interface on a display of the client, the user interface including an option to select a supported credential type of a third party authentication server, receiving a command selecting the supported credential type, and sending credential information and the selected supported credential type to an authentication server for third party authentication by the third party authentication server. The third party authentication server may support a token-based authentication protocol for implementing single sign on (SSO).