diff --git a/backend/bec_atlas/utils/ldap_auth.py b/backend/bec_atlas/utils/ldap_auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fdb961
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/bec_atlas/utils/ldap_auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+from ldap3 import ALL, SUBTREE, Connection, Server
+from ldap3.core.exceptions import LDAPBindError
+
+
+class LDAPUserService:
+    def __init__(self, ldap_server, base_dn):
+        self.server = Server(ldap_server, get_info=ALL)
+        self.base_dn = base_dn
+
+    def authenticate_and_get_info(self, principal, password):
+        """
+        Authenticate the user against the LDAP server and extract user details.
+        """
+        # Determine DN based on input type
+        if "@" in principal:
+            # Email login
+            bind_dn = principal
+            search_base = self.base_dn
+            search_filter = f"(userPrincipalName={principal})"
+        else:
+            # Standard username login
+            bind_dn = f"CN={principal},{self.base_dn}"
+            search_base = bind_dn
+            search_filter = "(objectClass=*)"
+
+        try:
+            # Authenticate the user
+            with Connection(self.server, user=bind_dn, password=password) as user_conn:
+                if not user_conn.bind():
+                    raise LDAPBindError("Invalid credentials")
+
+                # Search for user information
+                user_conn.search(
+                    search_base,
+                    search_filter,
+                    search_scope=SUBTREE,
+                    attributes=["cn", "mail", "givenName", "sn", "memberOf"],
+                )
+                entry = user_conn.entries[0]
+
+                # Extract user details
+                user_data = {
+                    "username": entry.cn.value,
+                    "email": entry.mail.value if "mail" in entry else None,
+                    "first_name": entry.givenName.value if "givenName" in entry else None,
+                    "last_name": entry.sn.value if "sn" in entry else None,
+                    "roles": (
+                        [group.split(",")[0][3:] for group in entry.memberOf]
+                        if "memberOf" in entry
+                        else []
+                    ),
+                }
+                return user_data
+
+        except LDAPBindError as e:
+            print(f"LDAP authentication failed: {e}")
+            return None
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    ldap_service = LDAPUserService(
+        ldap_server="ldaps://d.psi.ch", base_dn="OU=users,OU=psi,DC=d,DC=psi,DC=ch"
+    )
+
+    principal = "username"  # Replace with the username or email
+    password = "user_password"  # Replace with the user password
+
+    user_info = ldap_service.authenticate_and_get_info(principal, password)
+    if user_info:
+        print("User authenticated and details extracted:", user_info)
+    else:
+        print("Authentication failed or user not found.")
diff --git a/backend/pyproject.toml b/backend/pyproject.toml
index be6a616..b889371 100644
--- a/backend/pyproject.toml
+++ b/backend/pyproject.toml
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "websocket-client",
     "pydantic",
     "pymongo",
+    "ldap3",
 ]