Identity federation contunues to inch forward. This story out of Network World describes the federation between 24 universities and 11 other enterprises. InCommon, is the identity federation hub using Shibboleth.
InCommon, while acting as the identity hub, doesn't set trust standards. This is done by the universities and other parties as they negotiate their trust. However, InCommon does set two critieria for the federations: "The first is that their identity management system must fall under the purview of the organization’s executive management, and second, the system for issuing end-user credentials must have appropriate risk management measures in place."
The universites are using InCommon and Shibboleth to create trust agreements not only between themselves but also with their business partners.
Federation hubs like inCommon are the wave of the future. They act as legal framework where trust is negotiated.
Guy
www.authenticationworld.com
guy.huntington@authenticationworld.com
del.icio.us