News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren Rotman" <>]

Internet2 Collaborates with Microsoft to Develop Interoperability of
Authentication Technology

Shibboleth Project to Develop Interoperability with Microsoft's Windows
CardSpace

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - May 23, 2007 - Internet2 today announced its plans to
develop new extensions to Shibboleth to support Microsoft's Windows
CardSpace(TM) and other compatible identity selectors.

Adding information card support to Shibboleth, the most widely-deployed
federated authentication architecture, would enable interoperability with
Windows CardSpace which provides critical support for secure user-centric
authentication and identity information exchange for web-based applications.
By enabling this interoperability, Microsoft and Internet2 aim to help users
exchange personal identity information more safely and easily. In doing so,
institutions can more effectively leverage their existing and future
investments in their identity management solutions and build a closer, safer
relationship with their users.

"As more and more companies and organizations make information materials and
resources accessible online, the need for secure access solutions has become
critical. We see information card technology like Microsoft's Windows
CardSpace as a very important step forward in creating a ubiquitous Internet
identity layer, which is a key goal of the Shibboleth project as well," said
RL "Bob" Morgan, security architect at the University of Washington and
co-manager of the Shibboleth Project. "We appreciate Microsoft's leadership
in helping to create an open environment for information card development
and deployment, and are grateful for Microsoft support of Windows CardSpace
work in Shibboleth."

Shibboleth is a standards-based, open source middleware architecture
providing both intra-domain and inter-domain single-sign on (SSO)
capability. Used by over 20 million users worldwide within the research and
higher education community, Shibboleth implements the OASIS Security
Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard specification, and is currently
interoperable with Microsoft's Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS).

Both Shibboleth and Windows CardSpace provide the underlying mechanisms for
institutions and individuals to share resources across organizational
boundaries and to make informed authorization decisions for the access of
protected online resources. This federated authentication model implemented
by both Internet2 and Microsoft has proven to provide online resource
providers and institutions with a solid platform for exchanging information
in a highly secure and privacy-preserving manner. Once development is
complete, sites using Windows CardSpace will have the ability to participate
in the growing number of Shibboleth-based federations worldwide.

"The Internet2 Shibboleth project has been one of the leaders in bringing
interoperable digital identity to the academic and research communities
worldwide," said Michael B. Jones, senior program manager for Identity
Partnerships at Microsoft. "Shibboleth's support for information cards
allows people in the Shibboleth federation to use the cards at sites
participating in the Identity Metasystem, making the identities more
valuable to both the issuers and to the individuals, as well as enhancing
the user's control of their online interactions."

For more information on Shibboleth, visit: http://shibboleth.internet2.edu

About Internet2
Internet2 is the foremost U.S. advanced networking consortium. Led by the
research and education community since 1996, Internet2 promotes the missions
of its members by providing both leading-edge network capabilities and
unique partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development,
deployment and use of revolutionary Internet technologies. Internet2 brings
the U.S. research and academic community together with technology leaders
from industry, government and the international community to undertake
collaborative efforts that have a fundamental impact on tomorrow's Internet.


Contact:
Lauren Rotman
Internet2
202 331 5345


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Want to know more about what's new with Shibboleth? Experienced users and
those new to the software can register now for CAMP Shibboleth: Flexible
Web-Based Authentication and Authorization June 25-27 in Portland Oregon.
www.educause.edu/camp072