SAML Building Blocks
SAML is built upon a number of existing standards:
- Extensible Markup Language (XML)
- Most SAML exchanges are expressed in a standardized dialect of XML, which is the root for the name SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language).
- XML Schema
- SAML assertions and protocols are specified (in part) using XML Schema.
- XML Signature
- Both SAML 1.1 and SAML 2.0 use digital signatures (based on the XML Signature standard) for authentication and message integrity.
- XML Encryption
- Using XML Encryption, SAML 2.0 provides elements for encrypted name identifiers, encrypted attributes, and encrypted assertions (SAML 1.1 does not have encryption capabilities).
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- SAML relies heavily on HTTP as its communications protocol.
- SOAP
- SAML specifies the use of SOAP, specifically SOAP 1.1.
Read more about this topic: Security Assertion Markup Language
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