SSO Infrastructure Cyber Attacks - Learn How to Detect Early and Mitigate the Risk

With the increasing cybersecurity threats, businesses are now more concerned about cybersecurity hygiene and are swiftly adopting security mechanisms, like single sign-on (SSO). 

SSO offers a great level of security and ensures a seamless user experience since users need not enter their credentials again and again to switch multiple interconnected applications. 

Although various layers of authentication through multi-factor authentication (MFA) with SSO ensures adequate security, certain new risks could hamper the overall SSO infrastructure, leading to data breaches and financial losses. 

And by the time these attacks are detected, it’s already very late.

Hence, it’s crucial for organisations that have incorporated SSO into their platforms to reinforce their SSO security infrastructure to ensure any attack is detected at the earliest to mitigate the loss. 

Let’s uncover all the aspects of detecting an SSO attack, which can help brands provide the highest level of security. 

What is Single Sign-On (SSO)? Why Could SSO Infrastructure Attacks be Fatal for Organisations? 

Single sign-on is one of the most crucial features of identity and access management. SSO authentication allows websites/applications to use other trustworthy platforms to verify users. 

SSO allows a user to seamlessly log in to any other independent website/application through a single ID and password without the need of re-entering credentials again and again. 

In a nutshell, a single sign-on authentication allows users to log in once and stay logged in to multiple interconnected yet independent websites/applications. 

While SSO offers great benefits pertaining to user experience, it also creates certain risks for organisations managing heaps of customer identities. 

If SSO credentials are compromised, cybercriminals may access a broad range of applications within the organisation’s network. Hence, they may exploit the same for financial and other benefits. 

However, the most worrying thing is that businesses aren’t aware that their SSO infrastructure could be severely compromised and may lead to fatal consequences. 

Multiple businesses face data breaches due to poor SSO hygiene and lose millions of dollars annually. 

Hence, every business must invest in SSO security and take adequate measures to detect a breach at the earliest to mitigate the loss. 

Since we’ve learned about SSO and the risks associated with SSO infrastructure, let’s focus on ways to mitigate the risks. 

#1. Adding multi-factor authentication (mfa) as a standard 

Passwords are vulnerable to several threats, and it’s always tough for people to remember multiple passwords for multiple accounts.

So, won’t it be easier just to remember one password that works for all applications? With SSO, the user has to remember one password, and it can get access to all apps and websites. 

However, this could have negative consequences too. 

Suppose cybercriminals can crack this one password of a user. In that case, they get access to a broad spectrum of applications and websites where the user is logged in. hence, an additional authentication layer is mandatory to minimize the risk. 

Here’s where the crucial role of multi-factor authentication comes into play. 

MFA, combined with SSO, offers robust authentication security since a user needs to go through multiple authentication layers before getting access to a single account. 

This simply means that the user must first log in to an account by offering a one-time password or answering a security question that authenticates them to access all applications/websites further. 

#2. Reinforcing authentication security through risk-based authentication (rba) for high-risk situations 

Risk-based authentication is the most advanced authentication security mechanism that can strengthen SSO security in high-risk situations. 

Till now, we know that MFA could act as the second layer of defence against cyberattacks within SSO infrastructure. And it becomes tough for a hacker to obtain or bypass the second level of authentication. 

But what if the second authentication mechanism is compromised? And the cybercriminal has access to user credentials and manages to get an OTP by any means, including a brute-force attack or compromised email credentials?

Here’s where the critical role of RBA comes into play! 

RBA ensures every suspected login attempt is detected at the earliest and another stringent authentication layer is added whenever the system detects an unusual login attempt. 

RBA, also known as adaptive authentication, is a form of MFA that automatically increases layers of security in a high-risk situation whenever a new or unusual pattern of access is detected from a user’s end. 

For instance, suppose a cybercriminal has access to a user’s credentials and email credentials for MFA verification through OTP. The RBA will kick in if they try to log in from a different device or location or multiple authentication attempts. 

RBA will ensure that the user undergoes another verification process before granting access to the application/website, reinforcing security to the next level. 

Apart from this, RBA ensures that any unusual login attempt is immediately reported to the administrator, which further helps in finding loopholes or taking adequate measures to mitigate the risks associated with single sign-on. 

#3. Regular security audit

Accessing security infrastructure is perhaps the most underrated aspect of SSO security. 

Businesses aren’t aware of the fact that a little loophole in their internal system could be the reason for a potential SSO attack. 

Regular security audits and reviewing security policies can help brands prevent any data breach or a sneak into their network, which may further impact the entire organisation. 

Apart from this, educating employees while granting them access to specific resources is yet another fruitful way to ensure minimum risks since employee cybersecurity training always mitigates them.

In Conclusion 

Businesses globally are adopting various security mechanisms that ensure a seamless user experience. And SSO is undoubtedly on the top of the list. 

However, the risks associated with SSO infrastructure shouldn’t be underestimated since it may cause brands to lose millions of dollars and can eventually lead to reputational damages. 

Hence, they must incorporate cybersecurity best practices, including Multi-factor authentication, risk-based authentication/adaptive authentication, and regular security audits. 

The aspects mentioned above could help brands ensure the highest level of security while they deliver a seamless user experience to their customers through single sign-on.