A great team: SCIM and Keycloak. In today’s blog post, we take a closer look at why this combination can be the perfect choice, especially in terms of data protection.
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SCIM and Keycloak: More data protection for digital identities from start to finish
When it comes to handling digital identities, SCIM and Keycloak play a crucial role. Together, these two powerful tools form an integral part of an effective strategy for identity and access management systems (IAM). This is because SCIM and Keycloak offer numerous advantages, particularly with regard to data protection and the life cycle management of identities.
What is SCIM?
SCIM (System for Cross-Domain Identity Management) is an open standard specification that was developed to automate and simplify the management and exchange of identity information in cloud-based applications. The system provides a defined schema structure for users and groups, enabling connected systems to seamlessly exchange identity data between different platforms. The implementation of SCIM in IAM solutions brings numerous benefits, including
- Simplified data exchange: by using a standardised schema, SCIM minimises the risk of incompatibilities between different data models and greatly simplifies data exchange.
- Improved data protection: The automation of identity data management reduces the risk of errors in manual processes that could lead to data breaches. Granular control over all attributes of an identity also ensures compliance with applicable data protection regulations.
- More efficient management of the identity lifecycle: SCIM also enables consistent and efficient management of the entire lifecycle of an identity – from creation and updates to deletion and deactivation.
SCIM and Keycloak
Keycloak is an open source IAM tool with a strong focus on single sign-on, identity brokerage and social login functions. By integrating SCIM with Keycloak, users’ digital identities can be securely synchronised to all connected applications.
Keycloak works with SCIM on two levels:
On the one hand, it accepts “inbound” SCIM requests from identity brokers to provision identities to Keycloak. These requests can include the creation, updating, retrieval and deletion of identities.
On the other hand, Keycloak sends “outgoing” SCIM requests to connected cloud applications to create identities there, communicate changes to user identities and deactivate or delete the identities again at the end.
Conclusion
The connection between SCIM and Keycloak is fundamental for secure and effective identity management in the digital world. By automating and standardising identity management, SCIM and Keycloak not only help to improve data protection. They also enable consistent and efficient management of the identity lifecycle. With inbound and outbound SCIM requests, Keycloak offers a flexible and secure method for managing and integrating identity data in diverse IT environments.
