Understanding what OIDC is

In this section, we will explain what OIDC is and how it functions within identity and access management.

OIDC is an open standard for secure and standardized user authentication and authorization. It builds upon the OAuth 2.0 protocol, providing an additional layer for identity verification and information exchange between client applications and identity providers.

At its core, OIDC enables the authentication of users by leveraging identity providers. These identity providers act as trusted third-party services that verify the user’s identity and provide necessary information to client applications. By relying on well-established identity providers such as Auth0, Okta, GitHub, Google, or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), OIDC allows client applications to authenticate users without the need to manage user credentials directly.

OIDC has a few components for you to be familiar with. This is by no means an extensive list...