SIFULAN Federation

Introduction

SIFULAN: Enabling Secure, Seamless, and Trusted Access to Knowledge

The Secure Identity Federation on Unified Lightweight Access maNagement (SIFULAN) Federation, also known as SIFULAN Malaysian Access Federation, is Malaysia’s national access federation. It connects Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs), research organisations, schools, and partner agencies with leading providers of scholarly and digital resources. These include publishers, cloud service companies, public service departments, and other institutional partners that support Malaysia’s education and research ecosystem, enabling seamless collaboration and secure access to global resources.

Operating under a mutually endorsed trust framework, SIFULAN enables federated identity management through Web Single Sign-On (SSO) technology. This means that a user can sign in once — using their home organisation’s credentials — and seamlessly access a wide range of academic databases, e-journals, and digital services, without repeated logins.

This approach offers three core benefits:

  • Efficiency and User Experience – Simplifies access to multiple resources through a single, secure authentication process, reducing login fatigue and increasing productivity.
  • Security and Privacy – User credentials remain within the home institution’s identity system, strengthening protection against unauthorised access and data breaches.
  • Collaboration and Reach – Expands research and learning opportunities by facilitating resource sharing and fostering trust among diverse national and international partners.

For example, a researcher away from campus — whether at home, in a public library, or overseas — can use their institutional ID and password to log in once, and immediately access the subscribed resources of their institution without delay or additional logins.

By enabling trusted, scalable, and secure access, SIFULAN supports Malaysia’s vision for a connected, knowledge-rich, and collaborative research environment — empowering students, educators, and researchers to advance discovery and innovation without boundaries.

SIFULAN: One Login. Limitless Possibilities.

SIFULAN Federation uses the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) as the communication protocol between the Identity Provider (IdP) and the Service Provider (SP). For more details, please refer to the Membership types page.

SIFULAN Federation for Research and Education Community

  • Greatly facilitates global collaboration among research and education communities.

  • Provides a trust framework as the foundation for information exchange, sharing and privacy preservation.

  • Ensures safer and more reliable access to a wider range of services, data, tools, and software.

SIFULAN Federation Nationwide at a Glance

Annual data, last captured on 16 April 2025

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Total Authentications

Identity Providers

Service Providers

Benefits

Identity Provider

Joining SIFULAN Federation offers Identity Providers the ability to:

Grow your audience by making your service available to users worldwide.

Lower the costs per user—your audience can expand without increasing the costs associated with maintaining user credentials.

Allow a wide range of authentication methods to be used as SIFULAN Federation operates via the SAML protocol.

Service Provider

Joining SIFULAN Federation offers Service Providers with:

More services to your users by enabling access to a wider range of national and international resources.

No extra administrative burden if you are already participating in an identity federation.

Reduced cost and effort by minimizing the need for bilateral agreements with identity providers.

Users – Identity Holders

As a Student, Researcher or Staff Member, SIFULAN Federation service provides:

One digital identity for all services connected through SIFULAN Federation.

Securely access a wider range of national and international services using your institutional ID and password.

Greater confidence that your personal data is safe because your username and password are never shared.

Enterprise Solution vs. Federation Solution

Join the global research and education (R&E) community by connecting your organisation and services through a trusted, secure federation. As part of a worldwide initiative, you’ll break down technical and geographical barriers and unlock seamless collaboration with partners across the globe.

With Federation Solution, once connected, your users can access international facilities, tools, and resources using just a single username and password—no more juggling multiple accounts.

If you’re already a SIFULAN Federation service subscriber, connect to eduGAIN today and instantly extend your reach, giving your audience access to a truly global network.

Managing user identities and providing secure access to systems is essential for every organisation. Robust identity management tools and processes are vital for ensuring security, streamlining access, and empowering users to connect seamlessly to the resources they need.

Enterprise Access Solution

An enterprise identity and access management system is internally focused.

It enables members of your organisation to easily access the systems required for teaching, learning, administration, and research.

Federated Access Solution

Federated identity and access management enables your users and collaboration partners to securely access internal and external services without the burden of creating and managing additional identities.

The SIFULAN-operated federation builds trust between organisations by establishing a common set of rules for all members, allowing secure information exchange and safe user access to services.

No maintenance of individual agreements with each service is required, reducing both costs and technical complexity for your organisation.

Why do you need both solutions?

Enterprise and federated access are complementary—they address different challenges, but together they consistently provide secure access to services and enhance the user experience through a unified login.

*Some materials were adapted from the eduGAIN promotional leaflet.