Banks have invested heavily in authentication technologies. Single Sign-On, Multi-Factor Authentication and modern Identity Providers have significantly improved how users access digital services. However, authentication represents only one aspect of identity management.
As banking infrastructures become increasingly distributed, identities must be managed across a growing number of cloud services, legacy applications, corporate directories, internal platforms and external providers. Each of these systems may independently store and manage accounts, attributes, groups and roles. The challenge, therefore, is not simply to verify who a user is. It is also necessary to ensure that every identity remains consistent, authorised and traceable throughout its entire lifecycle.
What happens when an identity changes?
Consider, for example, an employee moving from one department to another. The change may be correctly recorded in the HR system, but this does not automatically guarantee that all connected applications will be updated consistently. New permissions may be assigned without removing the previous ones. Some local accounts may remain outside central controls. Certain systems may receive the update immediately, while others may remain out of sync. The issue becomes even more critical when an employee or external contractor leaves the organisation. Disabling the account in the main directory or Identity Provider may not be sufficient if active accounts continue to exist within connected applications. For a bank, these inconsistencies can lead to security risks, operational inefficiencies and greater complexity during audits.
Authentication and identity governance are different responsibilities
Authentication systems determine how users prove their identity and gain access to a service.
Identity governance must address a broader set of questions:
- Why was an account created?
- Which source authorised its creation?
- In which applications should it be activated?
- Which attributes and roles should be assigned?
- What should happen when the identity changes?
- When should access be suspended or removed?
- Are the accounts across different systems still aligned with corporate policies?
These responsibilities are complementary. To improve identity governance, a bank does not necessarily need to replace its Identity Provider, SSO platform or Multi-Factor Authentication infrastructure. Instead, it can introduce a central management layer capable of coordinating the identity lifecycle across the existing ecosystem.
Apache Syncope as a central governance layer
Apache Syncope is an open-source identity management platform designed to work with heterogeneous applications and repositories. It can act as an orchestration and governance layer between authoritative sources, such as HR systems, and target resources, including directories, databases, cloud services and enterprise applications.
Through a centralised model, organisations can manage:
- provisioning and deprovisioning;
- inbound and outbound synchronisation;
- identity data reconciliation;
- attribute mapping and transformation;
- workflows and approval processes;
- delegated administration;
- inconsistency management and remediation;
- reporting and audit events.
This approach allows existing authentication systems to continue performing their role, while Apache Syncope governs which identities and attributes should be made available to those systems and to the applications they protect.
From fragmented accounts to governed identities
The objective is not simply to connect more systems. It is to establish a consistent, controllable and observable process covering the entire identity lifecycle.
An effective identity governance architecture can help a bank:
- reduce manual activities;
- identify orphaned accounts;
- accelerate access revocation;
- improve data consistency;
- provide clearer evidence for internal controls and audits.
The strategic question for banking CTOs is therefore no longer limited to:
“How secure is the process through which we authenticate our users?”
It must also include:
“How can we demonstrate that every identity, account and access assignment remains correct and justified across all our digital services?”
Apache Syncope provides an open-source foundation for addressing this challenge without requiring banks to abandon the authentication technologies and applications already in use.
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