SSO vs MFA - which is better? Well, If you're looking to improve security or meet compliance, odds are that you’re wondering which will suit your existing tech stack or platform better.
The answer, like most answers in tech, is - it depends.
It genuinely depends on what your business is prioritizing - access or security. But we’ll what the specifics for both would look like in detail in this article…
What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?
Single Sign-On, or SSO solutions, puts all your access through one software that is encrypted using SSO protocols like SAML, OAuth, or OIDC. When you enter your username and password once in the SSO tool, you get access to all the apps and tools that are connected to it in one go.
Think about your Google account - one login connects you to Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, and more. You don't waste time typing passwords over and over. Plus, your important login details stay secure since they're stored and managed in one protected spot.
How Does SSO Work?
The Single-sign or SSO authentication framework can be broken down into the steps covered below:
- Step 1: When you try to access a protected application or service provider (e.g., a company's internal tool). This app will likely require authentication.
- Step 2: To do this, you are redirected to log in at the SSO provider. This might involve username/password, MFA, or other authentication methods.
- Step 3 - Assertion Creation: If authentication is successful, the SSO provider creates a security token (like a SAML assertion or an OpenID Connect token). This token will then be used to confirm your identity.
- Step 5 - Redirection Back to Application: The SSO provider sends you (and the token) back to the original application and other applications you have integrated when needed.
- Step 6 - Access Granted: The application verifies the token from the SSO provider. It trusts the SSO provider's authentication. Once this is done, you are logged in to the application and can log in to multiple others without having to enter your credentials again.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?
Multi-factor authentication protects your account access by asking for more than one credential or type of proof. When you log in, you'll need to prove it's really you using at least two or more types of authentication in total.
Typically, first, you would enter your username and password or passcode.
Then, you might get a code on your phone, a QR code, scan your fingerprint, or use a special security key to verify your identity in an additional authentication. This makes it a lot more reliable and unbreakable when you compare it to traditional authentication methods.
How Does MFA Work?
- Step 1 - Login Attempt: You log in to the app using your username and password (or passcode). After this, the app's server receives your request and processes the same.
- Step 2 - Primary Authentication: The server checks your username and password for the first level of authentication.
- Step 3 - MFA Triggered: If the first input is correct, the server starts the MFA process. It knows your chosen MFA method (app, SMS, etc.).
- Step 4 - Second Factor Authentication: The server sends a code, OTP, or magic links to your registered email, authentication app, or device.
- Step 5 - Second Factor Authentication Input: You enter the code from your app SMS, or magiclink, which sends a request, or you are redirected back to the app.
- Step 6 - Access Granted: The server verifies the second factor. If the second authentication is valid, you're logged into the application that has the MFA framework in place.
SSO vs MFA: 6 Key Differences
1. Speed and Convenience in Usage
SSO vs MFA - which is faster? Well, SSO is hands down the fastest and most convenient form of authentication. That said, it does come with limitations for many applications that do not support the more modern SSO protocols like SAML, OIDC, and OAuth.
MFA can be fast, however, unless paired with single sign-on, you will still need to verify your identity for every tool, platform or application you need access. This can hinder productivity and make it less convenient than MFA.
2. Level of Safety and Security
The level of security in MFA is no doubt a lot more reliable than SSO. While SSO does provide security, it is not completely immune to phishing and brute force attacks. So which is most secure - SSO or MFA?
MFA provides a minimum of two layers of security which can be modified to add additional layers or change the difficulty of authentication based on conditions and risk. Through the use of risk-based authentication and adaptive MFA, multi-factor authentication is one of the most secure forms of authentication - making it more secure than SSO.
SSO while quick and also secure, does not have the same level of security unless paired with MFA.
3. Single Point of Failure
SSO can serve as a single point of failure. While quick, if you fail to log in to one platform, you effectively are locked out of all of them.
In comparison, MFA (unlike 2FA solutions or SSO) has more flexibility allowing users to authenticate themselves in various ways while maintaining strict security and control over their access systems.
SSO paired with MFA allows you to work around this issue with both agility and flexibility with the use of QR codes, OTPs, magic links, and biometrics alongside other authentication methods.
4. Risk of Data Breaches, Cyberattacks and Ransomware
Which gets the most breaches - SSO vs MFA? With MFA, there are fewer data breaches, cyber-attacks, and ransomware are dramatically reduced.
While SSO also provides passwordless security, it can also use passcodes and passwords. However, given it allows access to multiple apps from one single point it is also potentially also a single point of failure. This goes especially if your SSO software or SSO provider experiences downtime and users cannot access the apps they need.
MFA does, however, hamper the user’s experience and productivity, reducing app users and hindering productivity. To handle this, however, adaptive MFA can help a great deal. This makes sure that challenging MFA authentication is put in place in the more risky situations and additional authentication is not always needed.
5. Usage of SAML, OIDC, OAuth, FIDO, and VPNs
SAML, OIDC, and OAuth are protocols used in single sign-on tools, a lot of the time, if applications do not support any one of these, they wouldn't be able to support SSO authentication. However, tools like Infisign can enable this through MPWA and NAG.
In the case of MFA - FIDO helps enable device passkeys and biometrics in authentication. SSO can use FIDO2 as well if there is a need for passwordless authentication and additional encryption.
However, MFA is more likely to support VPNs, which is not the case with SSO, which as mentioned, uses SAML protocol to integrate with cloud services.
6. Industries and Use Cases
MFA is almost a requirement for compliance in several industries like Healthcare, Finance, and SaaS products where payments are concerned to meet industry compliance laws. This makes multiple layers of authentication almost non-negotiable and also the use of device passkeys and biometrics a common occurrence.
SSO on the other hand is more popular for tech companies, development companies, and service companies where access to multiple tools and systems needs you to waste as little time as possible.
When paired together, MFA and SSO can be used in almost any industry that needs a little more security and deals with data.
How SSO and MFA Complement Each Other
- Better Security: Improving your security is the most important reason to opt for using both SSO with MFA together. What pairing both does in terms of security is make sure that your framework is not slow, but with multiple layers that assure only authorized access.
- Balances User Experience and Safety: Although strict security helps, can you have security that is also quick and reliable? Absolutely! SSO with MFA delivers on this, especially in cases where companies opt to use adaptive MFA. This makes sure that access is easy when there is minimal risk and requires additional more complex methods of validation when risk increases.
- Reduces Costs of IT Support: As your company grows, the price of IT support skyrockets, with MFA and SSO in place, you remove forgotten passwords with passwordless authentication. Also if enabled through an IAM you allow self-service and make the process of adding and removing users a lot more user-friendly.
- Removes Password Fatigue: Remembering a lot of passwords is difficult. Keeping your credentials listed in one place also compromises security! SSO with MFA removes this challenge, allowing you to use one password but with impressive security.
- Lowers Risk of Both Phishing and Brute Force Attacks: Through the use of passwordless authentication and multiple layers of authentication, SSO with MFA helps reduce the success of phishing and brute force attacks - making this risk almost impossible.
How to Choose the Ideal Authentication Method for Your Organization
The fact is that picking the authentication method for your company depends on your budget, company size, and what your workflow looks like. Although the question may be SSO vs MFA - the even more essential question can be what type of authentication?
For instance, some tools like Okta do not support startups as well, while tools like OneLogin have been reported to have downtime. That said here are the criteria for picking your authentication method:
- Safety + Risk Mitigation: The first priority in choosing your authentication method and template needs to be the level of risk associated with your data and information being leaked. If the information is sensitive or can easily be exploited, MFA methods, conditional access, and zero-trust systems can add immense value.
- Compliance Laws: Based on the industry you operate in, odds are you are answerable to different regulatory bodies like the FDA or HHS. Staying on the right side of compliance laws prevents regulatory fines and expensive lawsuits. To prevent this from being an issue, having privileged access management, MFA, and auditable records place makes all the difference.
- Size of Your Company: The size of your company can heavily influence the type of authentication you choose to opt for. Companies need to keep in mind the chances of insider risks, the cost of data breaches, and how scalable the authentication solution is.
- Software Performance: Some MFA and SSO providers are known to have downtime. Before looking at just authentication tools - make sure to prioritize reviews, and chances of downtime, and avoid creating a single point of failure.
- Price Range: Some authentication frameworks are more expensive than others. Aside from this, if you want customization in your authentication framework, some software charges additional fees. We’d recommend you look at tools that are transparent about authentication features without additional costs.
How Infisign Simplifies Secure Authentication
Built on a zero-trust framework, Infisign is a zero-trust security solution that has both flexibility and scalability for app users through UniFed and companies through Infisign Workforce Identity Management. While most IAM software uses strategic pricing strategies, Infisign opts for simple, affordable tenant-based pricing. Aside from that, we’ve also listed other ways Infisign adds value:
- Unlimited Directory Sync: No matter how many tools you add to your tech stack and no matter the number of ecosystems, Infisign provides unlimited directory sync to make adding additional tools and keeping your SSO framework up to date easy to do.
- No Code Universal SSO: Sign on to your full-tech stack in one go. While If you don’t like to deal with the hassle of coding, Infisign allows you to put a single sign-on in place without needing heavy technical expertise.
- Passwordless Authentication: Infisign removes the risk of phishing and data breaches significantly with authentication systems that do not need to use the same type of credentials - you can also use OTPs, magic links, Device passkeys, and biometrics.
- Adaptive MFA: Infisign changes the required MFA template based on circumstances like device, IP address, and location for risk-based authentication.
- Biometrics + Device Passkeys: Although most SSO and MFA software add a premium on device passkeys and biometric authentication - Infisign does not! (With Infisign you get biometrics and device passkeys without any additional cost)
- Add and Remove Access to Entire Groups: In companies with large teams, adding and removing access can need a huge admin team! With Infisign you can add or remove access to even hundreds of users with just a few clicks.
- AI-Powered Access Assist: Add and remove users quickly on platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- Automated Provisioning and Deprovisioning: Based on the policies and group settings you put in place you can automate the process of provisioning and deprovisioning.
- Network Access Gateway: Need to grant to access on-premises applications based on directories stored on your cloud? Well, Infisign takes care of this with a network access gateway. This work around that allows cloud-based access to on-premises apps.
- Over 6000+ App Integrations: With more than 6000+ pre-built app integrations, adding Infisign to your tech stack is straightforward, allowing you to enable it in under 4 hours.
MFA vs SSO: Why Does It Matter?
With the versatile IAM software on the market, you do not have to pick between MFA or SSO. The answer to SSO vs MFA - is easily SSO WITH MFA. When paired they add both security and speed.
However, for companies, their major concern should be picking access tools that can enable quick SSO with MFA frameworks for software that is older and does not support these. Aside from this, companies would benefit from tools built on a zero-trust framework.
When it comes to SSO functionality across ecosystems, tools, and legacy applications, Infisign is a reliable and scalable tool that’s powered with AI access assist.
Most of our clients like that we can accommodate SSO for your complete tech stack regardless of the ecosystem or application. Want to know more? Book a free trial call with our team!
