CompTIA Cloud+ Practice Test

What technology would best assist in enabling identity federation for authentication in SaaS?

1. SAML

2. NTLM

3. MFA

4. PKI

The correct answer is: SAML

SAML, which stands for Security Assertion Markup Language, is particularly designed for enabling single sign-on (SSO) and identity federation. It facilitates the exchange of authentication and authorization data between an identity provider (IdP) and a service provider (SP) in a secure manner. This is essential in Software as a Service (SaaS) environments where users may need to access multiple applications across different domains without repeatedly entering credentials. SAML works by allowing users to authenticate once through the IdP, which then provides an assertion to the SP, confirming the user's identity and optionally providing additional attributes. This process significantly enhances user experience and security by reducing password fatigue and centralizing identity management. In contrast, NTLM (Windows NT LAN Manager) is a legacy authentication protocol primarily used in Windows environments and does not support federated identity scenarios well. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring additional verification methods during the login process, but it does not address the identity federation aspect itself. Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) provides a framework for secure communication through certificates, but like MFA, it does not provide the necessary federated identity capabilities on its own. Thus, SAML emerges as the most effective choice for