What does Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0) facilitate?

Security Assertion Markup Language 2.0 (SAML 2.0) primarily functions to facilitate the exchange of authentication and authorization data between different security domains. This is fundamental in Single Sign-On (SSO) scenarios where users can authenticate once and gain access to multiple services or applications provided by different organizations or platforms without needing to log in each time.

SAML operates by allowing an identity provider (IdP) to communicate user authentication information to a service provider (SP) using XML-based assertions. These assertions communicate whether the user is authenticated and what attributes or claims about the user are needed for the service provider to grant access. This two-party exchange improves user experience and enhances security by reducing the number of credentials a user must maintain.

In contrast, other options illustrate different concepts. For example, authentication based solely on passwords is a much narrower scope and does not leverage the federated identity aspect that SAML provides. Granting access based on user location, while important in certain contexts, doesn’t align directly with the primary function of SAML, which is concerned with authentication and authorization rather than geographic restrictions. Similarly, providing physical access to devices falls outside the realm of SAML’s capabilities, as SAML deals exclusively with digital identity and access within