Start with Identity
← Glossary
Protocol

CIBA

Client-Initiated Backchannel Authentication. An OpenID Connect flow where authentication is initiated on one device and approved on another, useful for call centers and decoupled approvals.

CIBA solves a real problem: the person who needs to approve is not at the device making the request. Call center verification, in-store payments, and machine-initiated transactions all fit. It is also the pattern that device-code phishing abuses, because decoupling the requesting device from the approving one is exactly what a phisher wants. Bind the approval prompt to transaction detail the user can check, and never let it read as a generic "approve sign-in".

See also: OpenID Connect, device code flow, step-up auth, MFA

Last reviewed By SWI Community TeamSuggest a correctionHow we research