A New Simplified Federated Single Sign-on System

The work presented in this MPhil thesis addresses this challenge by developing a new simplified FSSO system that allows end-users to access desktop systems, web-based services/applications and non-web based services/applications using one authentication process. This new system achieves this using two major components: an “Authentication Infrastructure Integration Program (AIIP) and an “Integration of Desktop Authentication and Web-based Authentication (IDAWA). The AIIP acquires Kerberos tickets (for end-users who have been authenticated by a Kerberos single sign-on system in one net- work domain) from Kerberos single sign-on systems in different network domains without establishing trust between these Kerberos single sign-on systems. The IDAWA is an extension to the web-based authentication systems (i.e. the web portal), and it authenticates end-users by verifying the end-users\u27 Kerberos tickets. This research also developed new criteria to determine which FSSO system can deliver true single sign-on to the end-users (i.e. allowing end-users to access desktop systems, web-based services/applications and non-web based services/applications using one authentication process). The evaluation shows that the new simplified FSSO system (i.e. the combination of AIIP and IDAWA) can deliver true single sign-on to the end- users. In addition, the evaluation shows the new simplified FSSO system has advantages over existing FSSO systems as it does not require additional modifications to network domains\u27 existing non-web based authentication infrastructures (i.e. Kerberos single sign- on systems) and their firewall rules