Most business owners have a general understanding of cybersecurity and the measures that must be taken to keep them protected. But, as a premier ITSM and cybersecurity firm serving the Los Angeles region, we get a lot of questions about SSO, or single sign-on. What is SSO? And how can it help improve cybersecurity for businesses — even small- to medium-sized ones?
In a nutshell, SSO is an authentication process that allows users to access multiple applications with one set of credentials. This is opposed to the more traditional method of requiring separate login information for each individual application. SSO is considered more secure because it reduces the number of opportunities for cybercriminals to gain access to sensitive information.
Of course, it’s not the only solution for improving cybersecurity. But, when used in combination with other best practices, SSO can be a powerful tool for protecting your business against cyberattacks.
- If you’re interested in learning more about how SSO can help improve cybersecurity for your business, contact the experts at ClearFuze today. We’re always happy to answer any questions you have.
Cybersecurity Before SSO
The old-fashioned way to deal with applications was problematic. If you had five different applications, you would need to remember five different username and password combinations. Not only is this a burden on users, but it’s also an open invitation for cyber criminals.
The process of creating unique login credentials for each application is also time-consuming and error-prone. Employees might write down their passwords or use the same password for multiple applications, which weakens security.
And if an employee leaves the company, you would need to go through each application and change the password — a process that’s both time-consuming and vulnerable to human error.
Overall, the old way of doing things left businesses more exposed and vulnerable. It also meant that users were less productive because they had to remember multiple login credentials and deal with the hassle of resetting passwords.
How SSO Was Developed
SSO was first introduced in the late 1990s as a solution to the problem of managing multiple passwords. At the time, most businesses used Active Directory (AD), which is a Microsoft directory service that authenticates and authorizes user access.
With AD, businesses could manage user accounts and control access to applications. However, they still needed a way to simplify the login process for users. That’s where SSO comes in.
With SSO, businesses could use AD to manage user accounts and then set up an SSO solution to handle authentication. This way, users would only need to remember one set of credentials to access all their applications.
Nowadays, there are many different SSO solutions available, and they don’t all require AD. This is good news for businesses that don’t want to use AD or that are using a mix of on-premises and cloud-based applications.
Now, just because SSO is available, doesn’t mean many of our new clients are taking advantage of it. In our experience, a lot of business owners are still using the old, traditional methods — even though they know it’s not as secure.
Part of the reason for this is that they don’t fully understand how SSO works and what benefits it can offer. So, let’s take a closer look.
SSO and Cybersecurity Advantages
There are a number of benefits that come with using SSO for smaller businesses in the architecture, entertainment, finance, law, and healthcare sectors, including:
- Improved security: As we just mentioned, SSO can help improve security by reducing the risk of password reuse and minimizing the chances of phishing attacks.
- Reduced costs: SSO can also help reduce the costs associated with password management, such as resetting passwords and dealing with forgotten passwords.
- Increased productivity: Users can access the applications they need without having to remember multiple sets of login credentials. This can lead to increased productivity as users spend less time trying to log in to different applications.
- Better compliance: SSO can help businesses meet compliance requirements, such as those set forth by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
SSO Is Not the Only Answer for Solid Cybersecurity
SSO is an important step for businesses to secure their errant passwords, but it’s still only a single step. As we mentioned before, SSO won’t do anything to stop a determined hacker.
For example, if an employee falls for a phishing attack and reveals their login credentials, a hacker can use those credentials to access all the applications that person has permission for — even if those applications are using SSO.
Today many business owners have no idea about the breaches that exist involving their SSO info. Many breaches go undetected for years. BitSight, a security ratings firm, recently published a study showing that 25 percent of the S&P 500 and half of the top 20 most valuable public U.S companies have had at least one SSO credential for sale on the dark web in 2022.
In recent weeks an SSO hack made headlines. An 18-year-old hacker managed to bypass the security measures put into place by ridesharing giant Uber. The teenager got into its email and cloud systems, code repositories, internal Slack account, and HackerOne tickets. How did they do it? By impersonating a member of the IT department and sending an employee a text requesting their password. That’s all it took!
This goes to show that no matter how big or small your business is, you need to have a solid cybersecurity strategy in place.
Implement a Layered Security Approach Including SSO
What can business owners do to prevent these types of attacks? It’s important to have a layered security approach that includes other cybersecurity measures, such as:
- Two-factor authentication: This adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to confirm their identity with something they know (e.g. a password) and something they have (e.g. a code sent to their phone).
- Identity and access management: This helps businesses control which users have access to which applications and data.
- Security awareness training: This helps employees learn how to spot phishing attacks and other cybersecurity threats. As you saw in the example involving Uber above, a single employee’s lack of preparation can cost a business millions. All it takes is one wrong click. ClearFuze includes worker training in every customized ClearONE package for our clients.
- Disaster recovery: This helps businesses recover from attacks and other disasters.
- Data protection: This helps businesses protect their data from being accessed or used without permission.
- Quick IT support in emergency situations: This helps businesses get the IT support they need quickly and without leaving themselves more vulnerable.
By implementing a layered security approach that includes SSO, businesses can help improve their cybersecurity posture and reduce the risk of attacks. While single sign-on (SSO) can offer some advantages from a cybersecurity perspective, it’s important to remember that it’s not the only answer when it comes to solid cybersecurity.
A layered approach that includes other measures, such as two-factor authentication, identity and access management, security awareness training, and quick IT support in emergency situations, is the way to go.
If you’re interested in implementing SSO for your business, reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you get started. ClearFuze is the Los Angeles cybersecurity leader with years of experience. We specialize in the comprehensive ClearONE solution, which includes cybersecurity and other crucial IT services.