Identity Broker

1 min read

Pronunciation

[ahy-den-ti-tee broh-ker]

Analogy

Like a diplomatic envoy who translates documents and credentials between countries’ governments.

Definition

A service that mediates between multiple identity providers and relying parties, aggregating, normalizing, and translating identity credentials across domains.

Key Points Intro

Identity brokers unify disparate identity systems for seamless authentication and attribute exchange.

Key Points

Protocol translation: SAML ↔ OIDC ↔ DID‑based flows.

Attribute mapping: Normalizes claims schemas.

Privacy controls: Consent management and selective disclosure.

Audit logs: Records identity transactions for compliance.

Example

A dApp integrates an identity broker that accepts Google OAuth, Verifiable Credentials, and auth, presenting a unified JWT to the app.

Technical Deep Dive

Broker runs connectors: OAuth2 client, DID peer DLT resolver, SAML SP. It issues a signed JSON Web embedding mapped claims and logs events to a tamper‑evident .

Security Warning

Broker compromise can expose all federated credentials; isolate and harden the service.

Caveat

Adds centralization risk; consider decentralized broker architectures.

Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Glossary

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