OpenID Connect is the newest iteration of the OpenID Internet authentication standard that’s been developed in coordination by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others at the OpenID Foundation. OpenID Connect performs many of the same tasks as OpenID 1 & 2, but does so in a way that is API-friendly, and usable by native and mobile applications. OpenID 1 and 2 lend part of their name, but Connect is a complete re-write that is fundamentally better architected for the modern web in a few important ways.

1. OpenID Connect
vs. OpenID 1 & 2
3 important new features Connect
has that OpenID 1 & 2 didn’t.

2. What is OpenID?
● Open standard for authentication
● Developed by members of OpenID
Foundation
● Framework for the communication that
must take place between IDP & RP

3. Problems w/ OpenID 1 & 2
● URI’s as the identifier were too hard for
people to remember
● Not API & Mobile friendly
● No support for robust signing &
encryption

4. Enhancements to Connect
1) Discovery: provides a scalable way for
RP’s to allow people to authenticate via
any OpenID Connect Provider, not just
major IDP’s like Google & Facebook.

5. Enhancements to Connect
2) Email as the identifier: People never
have trouble remembering their email
addresses, and email is an intuitive way to
think about resource access (i.e. Am I
accessing business content? Ok, then I use
my business email creds).

6. Enhancements to Connect
3) Dynamic Client Registration: In order to
support the growing number of devices and
API’s using the web, Connect allows clients
to register dynamically, relieving admins of
the time-consuming task of explicitly
registering devices and websites.

7. Why Else is Connect Promising?
● Support from every major identity
provider including Google, MSFT, Yahoo
& Facebook.
● JSON / REST > XML
● OAuth2 already in use by 85%+ of
consumer social logins.

8. Gluu’s OpenID Connect Server
● oxAuth is the leading OpenID Connect
implementation in interop tests.
● 100% open source.
● Currently in production at large
organizations.

9. How to prepare for Connect
● People: Not much. Social login is already
ubiquitous on the net.
● Organizations: Launch an OpenID
Connect provider and discovery service.
● Developers: Add Connect to your
roadmap. Libraries already exist in Java,
Python, and other popular platforms.

10. More Resources
● Open ID Connect website: http:
//openid.net/connect/
● Open Source OX Wiki: http:
//ox.gluu.org
● Interop Test Results: http://osis.
idcommons.net/wiki/Category:
OC5_OP