Okta Interview Questions And Answers

What is OKTA? Why OKTA is in demand?

OKTA is an application management service, developed for cloud, which ties all devices, logins, and applications.

OKTA is in demand due to below three reasons. 

1. It helps organizations to construct customer-oriented experiences.
2. It helps to block data breaches.
3. It helps to construct and modernize IT.

Name different OKTA products.

There are different products provided by OKTA.

1. Single sign-on
2. Lifecycle management
3. Universal directory
4. Multi-factor authentication
5. OKTA API Products

What is Okta authentication?

The Okta Authentication API provides operations to authenticate users, perform multi-factor enrollment and verification, recover forgotten passwords, and unlock accounts. Primary authentication allows you to verify username and password credentials for a user.

Mention a few benefits of OKTA Universal directory.

• Universal Directory is the centralised place for managing all users, groups and devices from any sources. It has few benefits which make it most secure.
• It provides group-based password policies
• All the users and passwords are stored securely in it
• It has also option of complexity for password policy
• It also supports rich SAML and authorization scenarios based on different attributes.

How to add users in bulk in Okta?

Okta Admin can upload users in bulk by navigating to below location.

Directory → More Actions → “Import Users From CSV”

Okta also provides Realtime Sync facility to updates user profiles, groups, group members during sign-in period instead of waiting for any import.

What is state token?

state token is ephemeral token that encodes the current state of an authentication transaction. A state token is generated during the AuthN process, and gets converted to a session token once the user has been authenticated.

Ephemeral token that encodes the current state of an authentication or recovery transaction.

• The stateToken must be passed with every request except when verifying a recoveryToken that was distributed out-of-band
• The stateToken is only intended to be used between the web application performing end-user authentication and the Okta API. It should never be distributed to the end user via email or other out-of-band mechanisms.
• The lifetime of the stateToken uses a sliding scale expiration algorithm that extends with every request. Always inspect the expiresAt property for the transaction when making decisions based on lifetime.

What is single sign-on? Why it is important?

Single sign-on (SSO) in the enterprise refers to the ability for employees to log in just one time with one set of credentials to get access to all corporate apps, websites, and data for which they have permission. 

SSO solves key problems for the business by providing: 

• Greater security and compliance.
• Improved usability and employee satisfaction.
• Lower IT costs.

Define Multi-factor authentication.

Multi-factor Authentication provides different ways to implement various factors of authentication across usability and assurance levels.  Different factors are described as below:

1. Knowledge: It depends on users’ knowledge
2. Possession: It depends on something users have
3. Biometric: It depends on something which user is.

What are the benefits of OKTA Universal directory?

Benefits of OKTA Universal directory is 

• Store rich profiles of user attribute in Okta.
• Customize and extend user and app profiles with custom attributes.
• Bi-directionally map and move attributes from Okta to applications.
• Transform attributes using a powerful and intuitive Expression Language before storing them in Okta.

These capabilities enable you to do the following:

• Synchronize user profile information across cloud HR systems, on-premise directory systems and applications.
• Provision application user accounts with rich profile information such as roles, managers, geo-locations and other attributes that aid in configuring complex authentication and authorization rules.
• Collect, import and store any type of user attribute, including externally defined custom attributes.

Can admin of OKTA see passwords of any user? 

No Passwords are not visible to anyone. OKTA Admin can only see username of any user.

What is SAML?

Security Assertion Markup Language is an open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties, in particular, between an identity provider and a service provider. SAML is an XML-based markup language for security assertions.

How does SAML works?

SAML sets the secure environment between different organizations. To communicate seamlessly, identity provider and service provider needs to implement SAML. Once SAML has been set up, when user tries to access SP, IDP will authenticate user. SP will confirm and assures that message is coming from the trusted IDP and registers a session with app for user.

Why should we use SAML?

SAML has many benefits for individual user, identity provider and service provider.

• It saves time from administrative tasks like password resets etc.
• It increases security 
• It also increases usage by reducing barriers to entry.

How does SAML works?

SAML sets the secure environment between different organizations. To communicate seamlessly, identity provider and service provider needs to implement SAML. Once SAML has been set up, when user tries to access SP, IDP will authenticate user. SP will confirm and assures that message is coming from the trusted IDP and registers a session with app for user.

How can we set up to send an email notification to new users upon joining?

There is one checkbox, which needs to be unchecked to send a welcome email to any new user. Navigation for same is as below.

Okta Admin Console → Directory → Directory Integrations → AD → Settings → ‘Don’t send new user activation emails for this domain’ Checkbox

Can we enter multiple mobile numbers in Okta MFA?

No, Okta MFA doesn’t support multiple mobile numbers as of now.

Which two attributes defines last logon of a Okta user?

Whenever any Okta user logs in Okta account, the AD attributes- lastLogon and lastLogonTimestamp are modified and updated to recent.

What is the difference between SCIM connector and server?

SCIM is the System for Cross-domain Identity Management. SCIM is used to connect Okta to on-premises applications. Communication between Okta and on-premises applications occurs through the Okta Provisioning Agent and a SCIM server or a provisioning connector built using Provisioning Connector SDK.

How can I obtain a list of all the users who are assigned to applications? Is there any way to download all users or groups from Okta?

All users and groups can’t be located at one place. 80% of them will be found in system logs and reports. Users permissions can be found in Security → Administrators directory.

• in the Okta Admin console, navigate to Reports > Reports
• in the Application Access Audit section, click Current Assignments
• to filter the list by application, enter the application name in the Application field and click Run Report
• to export the list, click Download CSV in the upper-right corner of the results table

How do I enable MFA in Okta?

You must enable MFA from the Admin interface of your Okta org before you can use it from the Okta API. Here is how to enable MFA for your Okta org:

1. Log in to your Okta org as a user with the administration.
2. Click the “Admin” button to get into the administrator interface.
3. Open the “Security” menu.
4. Select “Authentication” from the menu.
5. Click on “Multifactor”.
6. Click the “Edit” button in the “Factor Types” section.
7. Check the checkboxes next to “Google Authenticator” and “SMS Authentication”.
8. Click the green “Save” button.

How do I reset my Okta MFA?

To reset your MFA, login to your Okta org on a computer or mobile device. Click on your username in the top menu, and select the ‘Settings’ menu item. Go to the Extra Verification section, and select Setup or Reset, next to the MFA Factor that you want to setup or reset. Enter the required information and save.

What is OKTA verify for end-users?

Okta Verify is an MFA factor developed by Okta. Use it to verify your identity so you can sign in to your organization securely.

Whenever you sign in to your Okta account, you need to confirm who you are by using the Okta Verify app on your phone. Confirming your identity allows Okta to sign you in to your account securely.

How do I set up Okta SSO?

Setting Up a SAML Application in Okta

1. Log in to your Okta organization as a user with administrative privileges. …
2. Click on the Applications link in the upper navigation bar.
3. Click on the green Create New App button.
4. In the dialog that opens, select the “SAML 2.0” option, then click the green “Create” button.

How to Configure SAML in Okta?

Here is the steps to configure the SAML settings of your SAML Service Provider app in Okta, follow these steps using the information that you gathered in the first step:

1. On the SAML Settings page, paste the ACS URL into the Single sign on URL field.
2. Paste the Audience URI into the Audience URI (SP Entity ID) field.
3. Select the Name ID format and Application username that your application requires (for example, EmailAddress and Email) or leave the defaults.
4. In the ATTRIBUTE STATEMENTS (OPTIONAL) section, add the required SAML attributes for your app.