System for Cross-Domain Identity Management

Abstract

System for Cross-Domain Identity Management (SCIM) was first introduced in 2011 to provide a specification for cloud-based identity management. The identity and access management (IAM) sector is growing rapidly and SCIM aims to meet the needs. SCIM aims to bring a simple, easy and cheap way of managing identities in cloud-based applications, by providing clear protocols and schemas. The protocol and core schema make up the backbone of the specification. SCIM enables developers to choose the implementation methods by themselves which helps with keeping the security because the specification does not rely on one authentication method. The SCIM specifications have been updated twice from 1.0 to 1.1 in 2012 and then to version 2.0 in 2015. The latest version will be used to make a working SCIM application to see what it does. To understand SCIM better and why it was invented the thesis will contain information about IAM and services around it. The core schema and protocol of the SCIM specification will also be looked at and explaining them more understandably. The project will gather all the information gained and show what the SCIM is in practice.