Single Sign-On, the Cure for Password Fatigue

You have probably heard the phrase Single Sign-On (SSO) a hundred times. Even if you don’t know exactly what it is, you’ve probably logged into something through SSO a hundred times, too. But what is it, and why do companies and people trust it so much?

What is Single Sign-On (SSO), exactly?

SSO works behind the scenes to let users securely sign into different applications with a single set of login credentials. In other words, it allows the user to log into multiple services with one username and password. Once you’re logged into one service with those credentials, you don’t have to re-authenticate for another service.

In today’s digital world, nobody has the time to log in to all the countless applications and services that we use online. We at Toucan understand that and wanted to make your life easier. That’s why we enabled SSO on our platform.

We have gotten a lot of requests from professional Toucan users at companies and organizations about integrating their security protocols and login processes with Toucan. With this update, if you're logged in via a Toucan partner's portal, you will immediately be let into Toucan without having to do anything extra.

Where did SSO come from?

SSO was born out of a real need. It’s really difficult to keep track of all the places where we have to create separate accounts online. A study showed that the average person has 100 passwords. And who has the time to memorize all of those and constantly be typing them out?

What is password fatigue?

Surely, you have felt it before: it’s the exhaustion that comes with being required to remember a lot of different passwords as part of our daily routine. The reality is that we deal with passwords more often than we realize. We need a password to enter our work computer, our email, the ATM, and even to unlock our bicycles.

Aside from the tiredness and stress, password fatigue will lead people to adopt unsafe habits that could compromise their personal information. Some people write them out on a piece of paper, some keep a document on their computer with all their passwords, and some have a note on their mobile phone. If that is your case, you are compromising your privacy and security.

Password fatigue affects users, but it can also affect technical departments. What solutions do we have to deal with this 21st-century malady?

How to deal with password fatigue?

💻 Integrated password management software - Most operative systems provide a mechanism to store passwords by using the user's login. Microsoft Windows provides Credential Manager and Mac OS X has Keychain. This functionality is also present in the most commonly used browsers.

🔐 Password management software - such as KeePass, Password Safe, One Password, and NordPass. These store passwords in a database encrypted with a single password. The problem with this solution is that if someone loses that one password, they will never get back all of their passwords. On the other hand, if someone steals that password, they will have access to everything.

🤚 Password recovery - The majority of password-protected web services provide a password recovery feature that will allow users to recover their passwords via email address (or other information).

🔓 Passwordless authentication -Why not get rid of passwords entirely?  Passwordless authentication services, replace passwords with alternative verification methods (such as biometric authentication).

The benefits of Single Sign-On

🖱️ Convenience: It makes logging in completely seamless. Say goodbye to memorizing countless passwords.

🔐 Security: OAuth, SAML, and OpenID Connect (OIDC) are standard and secure login integration methods.

📶 Less risk: SSO mitigates the risk of accessing 3rd-party sites because user passwords are not stored or managed externally.

⌨️ Reduce password fatigue (!).

💸  Cheaper: SSO reduces IT costs due to the lower number of IT help desk calls.

🌐 Better administrative control: All user management information is stored in a single repository.

How do I set up Single Sign-On (SSO)?

Contact our team for more info on getting SSO set up for your company or organization - or if you have any questions whatsoever. We are here to help!

If you haven’t tried Toucan for yourself, just jump into our interactive demo and play around with it. Then, take the next step and create a Toucan Space - your home on Toucan.

PS: We love hearing what you would like to see next on Toucan. After all, Toucan was built for you and your community. So feel free to reach out at any time: contact@toucan.events