Continuous Single-Sign-On (CSSO) method for authentication and authorization in microservices architectures

Abstract

Abstract In order to maintain a competitive edge, companies have adopted the microservices architecture to enable them to quickly add new functionality and application integrations. This is an architectural design pattern that consists of structuring a computer application into different autonomous services, which can be deployed and managed independently of each other. To secure access to the different services, most microservices applications delegate this function to an identity server which ensures authentication and authorization. However, the security offered by identity servers is subject to two essential flaws. The principle of single sign-on (SSO), which consists of authenticating once to access all the system's services, can quickly extend the scope of an identity theft attack to all these services. The access control implemented by these identity servers remains based on the principle of trusting the administrators. And so, any compromise of the administrator account would contribute to putting the system out of control. To overcome these security flaws in microservices we propose an approach based on continuous authentication mechanism called Continuous - Single - Sign - On (CSSO), which allows to authenticate a user throughout his session and not only at the connection time. This work finds its application in microservices and cloud security.CCS CONCEPTS • Security and Privacy• Software and its engineering • Information Systems