Internship: Creating a Reusable IAM Testing Environment

Internship: Creating a Reusable IAM Testing Environment

Description of Assignment

During this internship, you will develop a local, reusable IAM Sandbox Factory for Curity. The focus is on DevOps, automation and Identity & Access Management. Using a single Git project, a colleague should be able to reproducibly install, configure, secure, test, reset and remove a complete sandbox on a Linux-based machine.

The sandbox is controlled through clearly defined parameters. Based on these parameters, various OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect clients, authentication scenarios, MFA methods, themes and a simple demo application are set up automatically. Ansible is the natural choice for the central orchestration layer, potentially combined with a local installation or containers.

What will you do?

• Design a local deployment strategy that works reliably on a Linux-based virtual machine, without depending on a public cloud or Kubernetes cluster.
• Build a Git-based project that installs and configures the sandbox using parameters.
• Automate prerequisites, installation, configuration, start-up, shutdown, validation, reset and removal.
• Provide multiple configurable OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect clients and connect them to a simple web application of your choice.
• Implement at least three scenarios: a basic sign-in with a username and password, a sign-in with MFA, and an advanced OAuth flow.
• Make authentication methods, client configuration and themes configurable so that colleagues can adapt the sandbox without major code changes.
• Provide HTTPS, proper certificate management and secure handling of secrets.
• Provide optional hardening that allows the default setup to be compared with a more production-oriented configuration.
• Document the complete solution, including prerequisites, configuration, scenarios, troubleshooting and day-to-day operation, for future internal users.

What technical skills will you learn?

• Applying DevOps principles to an IAM platform, with a focus on automation, reproducibility, idempotency and maintainability.
• Working with Infrastructure as Code and configuration as code using tools such as Git and Ansible.
• Evaluating and using a local runtime, such as a traditional Linux installation or Docker/Podman containers.
• Configuring Curity for OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, different clients, authentication flows and MFA.
• Properly managing TLS, local certificates, hostnames, secrets and security settings.
• Integrating a simple web application with Curity and demonstrating the selected scenarios end to end.
• Writing technical documentation that enables a colleague to install and use the tool independently.

What soft skills will you develop?

• Communication skills: reporting and documenting clearly and professionally, and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Collaboration: working effectively within a multidisciplinary team in an agile environment.
• Problem-solving: analysing technical challenges and resolving them independently or in consultation with others.
• Self-organisation: taking responsibility for your tasks, planning and progress.
• Critical thinking: substantiating your choices and continuously improving based on feedback and evaluation.
• Customer focus: considering user needs and the business context when designing solutions.

Project Methodology

• The internship assignments follow the Scrum project methodology to provide a structured and efficient approach to tasks and subtasks.
• This reflects IdentIT’s approach to projects.
• Scrum is a flexible framework that:
  • Promotes collaboration
  • Encourages adaptability
  • Ensures transparency.
• The work is organised into time-boxed iterations called sprints:
  • Each sprint lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
  • Each sprint has clear objectives and tasks.
• At the start of each sprint:
  • The intern(s) and supervisor(s) hold a sprint planning session.
  • The objectives are defined.
  • A sprint backlog is created.
• During the sprint:
  • Weekly stand-up meetings are held.
  • Progress is discussed.
  • Any obstacles are identified and addressed.
• At the end of each sprint:
  • A sprint review is held.
  • Where possible, a demo is given.
  • Feedback is collected.
• Scrum contributes to a collaborative and adaptable working environment.
• The aim is to achieve the best possible results within the given timeframe.

MVP

The minimum feature set we expect is:

• A locally executable Git project that installs a Curity sandbox locally based on parameters