Authlete is pleased to announce that Shizuoka Shimbun Co., Ltd. and Shizuoka Broadcasting System Co., Ltd. (Shizushin SBS Group), a regional media group based in Shizuoka City, Japan, has introduced Authlete in “@S ID,” a common identity (ID) service provided by the media company.
By adopting Authlete, Shizushin SBS Group has implemented OAuth and OpenID Connect (OIDC), global API security standards, into the common identity infrastructure of @S ID, enabling high-level security and the interoperability of its identity system. By registering with @S ID, users can access various member services provided by Shizushin SBS Group with a common ID.
Shizushin SBS Group plays a critical role as a primary news source for Shizuoka Prefecture, providing news, sports and business stories, and local information through newspapers, television, radio, and the web. As of April 2024, The Shizuoka Shimbun boasted sales of 466,000 copies 1, making it one of the top regional newspapers in Japan.
In recent years, Shizushin SBS Group has accelerated digital transformation. In addition to a paid news site where users can read original articles and articles published in The Shizuoka Shimbun, it has also launched an internet portal that covers all information related to Shizuoka Prefecture, including local restaurants and events.
In 2023, the group released the free smartphone app “Shizuoka Shimbun SBS Digital @S+” as a comprehensive news media app of The Shizuoka Shimbun and Shizuoka Broadcasting System (SBS) and a local community app. The app users can view lifestyle information in Shizuoka Prefecture, access an app loaded with information on soccer in Shizuoka, and read newspaper articles if they have paid subscriptions by switching the content displayed within the app.
Shizushin SBS Group aimed to promote member services for newspaper subscribers and expand its digital service users. To this end, the company recognized that strengthening the integration between multiple services was critical. Federating identities across services was essential to creating an environment where users could use various services with a single ID.
However, the customer identity infrastructure of the group’s digital services at the time was integrated within the @S+ app and did not have external federation functions. Shizushin SBS Group decided to build a new common identity infrastructure in the summer of 2023 to solve this challenge. SBS Information Systems Co., Ltd. (SBS Information Systems), a system integrator under the group, led its development.
In building a common ID infrastructure, previous @S+ user information was migrated to the new infrastructure, while user management and authentication functions were newly developed. In addition, Shizushin SBS Group decided that the ID federation system between services will be compliant with the open standards OAuth and OIDC.
To implement OAuth and OIDC into the common ID infrastructure, all-in-one solutions that integrate user management, authentication, and ID federation functions, such as Auth0, Amazon Cognito, and Firebase Authentication, and open-source software (OSS), such as Spring Authorization Server, were initially considered. Nevertheless, Shizushin SBS Group adopted Authlete due to its flexibility and specialization in OAuth and OIDC.
“We were concerned that an all-in-one solution would not be able to meet the user management and authentication function requirements of the common ID infrastructure and would require considerable customization,” said Koji Omura, Deputy General Manager of the Digital Solutions Department, Next Generation Solutions Business Unit at SBS Information Systems. Omura oversaw the infrastructure’s architecture.
Omura said: “On the other hand, while OSS allows for flexibility in development, maintaining security for implementing ever-evolving OAuth and OIDC is difficult, and it was also unrealistic to have dedicated staff with extensive knowledge of both these specifications and OSS.”
“By adopting Authlete, which provides OAuth and OIDC implementations as API components, we were able to meet the requirements for the common ID infrastructure and externalize the security assurances of OAuth and OIDC,” Omura added.
Shizushin SBS Group implemented the OAuth and OIDC functions using Laravel. Development proceeded smoothly, and the company launched @S ID in September 2024.
The common ID infrastructure is operating smoothly, and the membership is growing. “We will continue to expand our services and strive to enhance the user experience,” Omura said.
”We are honored that Shizushin SBS Group has adopted Authlete to build its common ID infrastructure for @S ID. We will continue to provide reliable and stable services to support the growth of the @S ID membership and expansion of its services,” said Takahiko Kawasaki, Co-founder and Representative Director of Authlete.
1 (Japan Audit Bureau of Circulations Report, April 2024)
Authlete is a backend service that provides the core functionalities of OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, API security open standards, through web APIs. Language and framework-agnostic Authlete easily integrates with existing applications and user authentication systems, maximizing developer freedom and shortening development time. In addition, the on-demand scaling option enables flexible and efficient responses to temporary spikes in traffic.
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Authlete provides API security components designed to simplify and accelerate the implementation of OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect into authorization systems. Developed by global open standards experts, OpenID-certified “Authlete” supports the latest specifications, including advanced security profiles, such as FAPI and CIBA, and OpenID for Verifiable Credentials Issuance. Authlete’s solutions are widely adopted worldwide by companies of all sizes across industries, including financial services, media, retail, and technology.