Catalog
concept#Security#Architecture#Integration#Platform

Authentication Strategies

A conceptual overview of patterns and mechanisms for verifying identities in IT systems.

Authentication strategies describe patterns and mechanisms to verify identities in distributed systems.
Established
Medium

Classification

  • Medium
  • Technical
  • Architectural
  • Intermediate

Technical context

Identity providers (Keycloak, Auth0, Azure AD)API gateways and service mesh (e.g., Istio)Secrets management and HSM solutions

Principles & goals

Principle of least privilege for tokens and sessionsSeparation of authentication and authorizationShort token lifetimes and automated rotation
Build
Enterprise, Domain, Team

Use cases & scenarios

Compromises

  • Misconfiguration can lead to open authorization paths
  • Token theft due to inadequate storage or transport
  • Dependence on third-party IdP can affect availability
  • Use short-lived access and secured refresh tokens
  • Centralized audit logs and regular security reviews
  • Prefer standard protocols (OIDC/OAuth2) over proprietary solutions

I/O & resources

  • Requirements profile (security level, devices, user counts)
  • Existing identity data and account models
  • Infrastructure for key/certificate management
  • Definition of a recommended authentication strategy
  • Configuration and integration guidelines for IdP/services
  • Monitoring and revoke processes

Description

Authentication strategies describe patterns and mechanisms to verify identities in distributed systems. They cover passwords, token-based methods, OAuth, OpenID Connect and mutual TLS, and discuss trade-offs regarding security, scalability and integration. The concept presents selection criteria, common threats and recommendations for secure implementation.

✔

  • Reduced attack surface using modern approaches
  • Improved user experience with single sign-on
  • Better scalability through tokenized authentication

✖

  • Complexity in integration and protocol compatibility
  • Operational overhead for key and certificate management
  • Not all endpoints support modern methods (e.g., WebAuthn)

  • Authentication success rate

    Share of successful vs. attempted authentications within a time period.

  • Time to authenticate

    Average duration from login request to valid session/token issuance.

  • Number of stolen or compromised tokens

    Count of detected incidents involving token compromise or misuse.

OAuth 2.0 for third-party access

Using OAuth to grant authorized API access to third parties via short-lived tokens.

SAML SSO in enterprise

Central identity provider offers SSO for multiple enterprise applications using SAML.

Client credentials for backend services

Machine identities use client credentials flow for automated service authentication.

1

Requirements analysis and selection of suitable protocols

2

Proof-of-concept with chosen IdP and flow

3

Gradual rollout, monitoring and team training

⚠️ Technical debt & bottlenecks

  • Legacy password stores without modern hashing standards
  • Short-term hacks for legacy client compatibility
  • Missing automation for key and certificate rotation
Key and certificate managementLegacy client compatibilityToken validation performance
  • Storing passwords in plaintext in databases
  • Using insecure hashing algorithms for password hashes
  • Accepting access tokens without signature verification
  • Underestimating complexity of token refresh and revoke
  • Missing validation of redirect URIs in OAuth clients
  • Excessive logging of sensitive authentication data
Security and cryptography fundamentalsExperience with OAuth/OpenID Connect/SAMLOperation of identity services and PKI
Confidentiality and integrity of identityScalability under high user and API loadInteroperability with external identity providers
  • • Regulatory requirements for storing identity data
  • • Limitations from client-supported protocols
  • • Operational costs for HSMs/PKI for certificates