Configure Okta for SSO in your Code42 cloud environment

Overview

This tutorial explains how to configure your Code42 cloud environment to use single sign-on (SSO) with Okta.

For instructions about how to use Okta with Code42's provisioning provider feature, see How to provision users to Code42 from Okta.

This article assumes you are already familiar with SSO and the SAML standard. For more information about how Code42 implements SSO, see our Introduction to single sign-on.

Compatible Code42 components

Considerations

External authentication systems
Our Technical Support Engineers can help with authentication issues caused by interaction with Code42 products. However, troubleshooting authentication issues outside your Code42 environment is beyond the scope of our Technical Support Engineers. For assistance with external authentication systems, contact your authentication vendor.

To use this functionality, you must be assigned the Identity Management Administrator role.
Code42 usernames must match SSO usernames. How you accomplish this depends on how you deploy Code42 agents.
Code42 supports service provider-initiated SSO but does not support identity provider-initiated SSO. Therefore, users cannot sign in to your Code42 environment from the identity provider's website or application, but instead must log in using a browser bookmark.
SSO provides user authentication but does not provide user management. Set up SCIM provisioning or use the Code42 console to manage users.
Code42 does not support Single Logout (SLO). Users must sign out of the identity provider to end their single sign-on session.
The Code42 console expects SAML assertions to be signed. To configure Code42 to support advanced SAML request configurations, see Set SAML attributes for SSO.

Okta uses SHA-256 for the SAML signature algorithm, and Code42 also uses SHA-256 by default. If you need to change Code42 to use another algorithm, employ the Code42 API to set the requestAuthnSignatureMethod and requestAuthnDigestMethod attributes. For directions, see Set SAML attributes for SSO.

Before you begin

Verify network connectivity

Configure your private network, Internet, and VPN settings to allow client devices to communicate with your identity provider on ports 80 and 443. Test client connectivity to the identity provider before you proceed.

Step 1: Determine the server URL for your Code42 environment

When you configure Okta to connect to Code42, you must provide the Code42 server URL. Do the following to obtain the server URL:

Sign in to the Code42 console.
Navigate to Administration > Integrations > Identity Management.
Locate the Code42 service provider metadata URL:
- When setting up an authentication provider for the first time, the URL appears on the main screen:
- If you previously set up an authentication provider, the URL appears in the authentication provider details:
Record your Code42 server URL for use later. The first portion of the URL is your Code42 server URL, for example, https://example.com in the image above.
Copy the Code42 service provider metadata URL and paste it in the address bar of a new browser window.
Your Code42 environment's metadata details appear.
Find the AssertionConsumerService and its Location URL value, for example, Location="https://example.com/api/SsoAuthLoginResponse". The first portion of the URL is your Code42 server URL, for example, https://example.com. Record this URL for use later. You will enter this URL to the Server URL field in Okta in Step 3.

Step 2: Add the Okta application for Code42

Step 3: Configure Okta's sign on tab

In the Okta Dashboard, go to Applications and select the Code42 app.
On the Sign On tab of the Code42 app, click Edit.
Copy the Identity Provider metadata link. You will need it in the next step.
Next to Server URL, enter the server URL you recorded from Step 1. Typically, it is the same URL you use to access the Code42 console, such as https://console.us.code42.com.
Click Save.

Step 4: Add Okta as an authentication provider

Sign in to the Code42 console.
Navigate to Administration > Integrations > Identity Management.
Click Add Authentication Provider.
In Display name, enter an identity provider name to display to users that sign in with SSO.
If your Code42 environment provides more than one SSO identity provider, users see a list of providers to choose from. They must select the provider configured for their Code42 organization.
In Provider's Metadata, ensure that Enter URL is selected and paste the URL for the identity provider metadata XML file.

Custom domains are not supported
When entering the URL for the XML metadata file, custom domains are not supported. You must use the standard domain of your identity provider.
Click Create Provider.
Authentication provider settings appear.

Provider information message

Note the following message on the dialog:
This provider will not be applied to an organization until you update the organization security settings.

Do not apply this authentication provider to organizations yet. You will apply this provider to a test organization and to production organizations in later steps.

If you choose not to use the default mapping settings, you can use Attribute Mapping to customize mappings between Code42 platform user attributes and authentication provider SSO assertion attributes.
1. Click the Edit icon.
2. Deselect Use default mapping.
3. Configure mapping settings for each Code42 platform user attribute.
  Each field supports up to 128 characters.
  - Username: Specify the identity provider's name ID or attribute that maps to the Code42 username.
    
    Select Use nameid to use the identity provider's name ID.
    
    Select Use attribute tag to enter a custom identity provider attribute.
  - Email (Use nameid only): Enter the identity provider attribute that contains user email addresses.
  - First Name: Enter the identity provider attribute that contains user first names.
  - Last Name: Enter the identity provider attribute that contains user last names.
4. Click Save.
(Optional) Local Users displays the current user. If there are any other users you want to exempt from using this authentication provider to log in, enter them here.

Step 5: Test SSO authentication

To avoid impacting your production environment, use a test organization to verify that SSO is working properly.

Create a test user in your identity provider.
Sign in to the Code42 console.
Create a test organization.
Create a user in the test organization who matches the identity provider test user.
Configure the test organization to use SSO:
1. Navigate to Administration > Integrations > Identity Management.
2. Select the authentication provider.
3. Click Edit next to Organizations in use.
4. Select the test organization.
  Note that you can also use an organization's settings to select an authentication provider to use for SSO.
5. Click Save.
In the upper-right of the Code42 console, select Account > Sign Out.
Sign back in to the Code42 console as the test user to verify that SSO is working.

Step 6: Apply this provider to production organizations

Sign in to the Code42 console.
Navigate to Administration > Integrations > Identity Management.
Select the authentication provider.
Click Edit next to Organizations in use.
Select organizations to use the authtenication provider for SSO.
If applicable, select the Inherits settings to identify whether an organization inherits the setting from its parent organization. To enable SSO for all organizations, select the top-most organization. (Note that you can also use an organization's settings to select an authentication provider to use for SSO.)
Click Save.

Step 7: Add new users who sign in with SSO

Assign the Code42 app to users or groups in the Okta dashboard. See Okta's documentation for more information.
Ensure users are set up in Code42. You can add users manually with the Code42 console to an organization that uses SSO, or deploy Code42 agents to users in an organization that uses SSO. The users in Code42 must have first name, last name, and user name (email address) values that match the users' values in Okta.

Add users through provisioning
You can also add new users to your Code42 environment using Okta's provisioning. See How to provision users to Code42 from Okta.

What to expect

Reduced authentication prompts

When users sign in with SSO, they do not need to re-enter credentials for subsequent authentication attempts until the SAML authentication token expires. A SAML token applies to an application rather than a device, which means that a user might need to enter credentials again when signing into a different app.

For example, the single sign-in process differs whether users sign in to the Code42 console or Code42 agents:

Code42 console: When users sign in to the Code42 console, they are redirected in the web browser to sign in to their SSO identity provider. As soon as they sign in to their identity provider, the Code42 console launches.
Code42 agents (Incydr Basic, Advanced, and Gov F1 only): When users sign in to Code42 agents, following message appears: "To complete the sign in process, go to your web browser. This screen updates automatically once login is successful." A web browser window is automatically opened so they can complete the sign-in process in their SSO identity provider. As soon as they sign in to their SSO identity provider in the provided web browser window, the Code42 agent launches.

Lost access to an identity provider

External resources

Wikipedia:
- Single sign-on
- SAML
Okta: Documentation