Abstract: According to an embodiment of an aspect of the invention, there is a computer-implemented method for authenticating users of a network. The method comprises steps of maintaining, by an identity service, user accounts under a main user identifier, wherein the user accounts support a method of authentication by the user. The method further comprises generating, by an application frontend, a session public key of a public key verification scheme and providing, by the application frontend, the session public key to the identity service. Further steps include obtaining, by the application frontend, a certification from the identity service, the certification comprising the session public key and an application user identifier. The application user identifier is derived from the main user identifier and an application frontend identifier.