Simplified Sign-On For Any Device

By
iApplianceWeb
(07/29/02, 03:22:37 PM EDT)

The Liberty Alliance Project has made available to the public version 1.0 of its specification for open federated network identitification. This specifications derived from the cross-industry consortium is the Liberty Alliance's first step in defining a secure yet open networking solution.

The Liberty version 1.0 specifications focuses on interoperability between systems to enable opt-in account linking and simplified sign-on functionality. This allows users to decide whether to link accounts with various identity providers and makes it easier for both consumers and businesses to take advantage of the growing Web services space.

The specifications leverages industry-standard security and data transfer protocols, including the Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), developed by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). SAML is quickly becoming the de-facto means for exchanging user credentials between trusted environments.

As a demonstration of the specifications' ease-of-implementation, commercial value and significant need for an interoperable network identification solution, several member companies concurrently announced plans today to deliver Liberty-enabled products and services. These vendors include Communicator Inc., Entrust Inc., NeuStar Inc., Novell Inc., OneName Corporation, RSA Security and Sun Microsystems. The first products are expected to be available by end of 2002.

In addition to the release of its version 1.0 details were released about their next set of identity specifications already in development. The stated goal of the Liberty Alliance is creating standard and open federated network identification infrastructure that can link both similar and disparate systems.

The specifications allow businesses to connect heterogeneous systems in order to handle identification and authorization in a more efficient and controlled manner. This will be paramount in managing the growing number and types of transactions on the Internet today and in the future. It is also crucial to the integration of legacy systems and emerging technologies.

Version 1.0 specifications enables

- Opt-in account linking - Simplified sign-on for linked accounts - Log-in and authenticate once then link accounts - Authentication context - Global log-out - Both fixed and wireless devices support