US GSA Requires Liberty Alliance Interoperability Testing as Public Sector SAML 2.0 Adoption Soars
29/10/2007 10:09
PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, October 29 /PRNewswire/ --
- Open Standards, Proven Interoperability and Increased Security and
Privacy Protection Drive SAML 2.0-based eGovernment Applications Worldwide
Liberty Alliance, the global identity consortium working to build a more
trusted Internet for consumers, governments and businesses worldwide, today
announced that the E-Authentication Solution program of the US General
Services Administration (GSA) now mandates passing Liberty Alliance SAML 2.0
interoperability testing as a prerequisite for participating in the US
E-Authentication Identity Federation. This news comes as governments around
the world build and deploy SAML 2.0-based applications to offer millions of
citizens secure and privacy-respecting online services and to provide
businesses and public sector trading partners with an open, proven
interoperable and trusted platform for conducting and managing a wide variety
of identity-based transactions.
Countries building and deploying identity-based applications using
Liberty Federation, which consists of ID-FF 1.1, 1.2 and SAML 2.0
specifications, include Austria, Australia, France, Finland, Germany,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, countries in the Middle
East, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
These countries are relying on Liberty Federation to better meet business
goals and regulatory requirements and to ensure users are provided with the
highest levels of security and privacy protection across federations spanning
sectors and regional, national and international boundaries. Liberty Alliance
maintains a digital map and listing of countries deploying Liberty Federation
at http://projectliberty.org/liberty/adoption/egovernment/egov_world_map
GSA Sets the Pace for Advancing Trusted SAML 2.0 Federations
The decision by the E-Authentication Solution to require Liberty Alliance
SAML 2.0 interoperability testing for vendors participating in the US
E-Authentication Identity Federation is furthering the deployment of trusted
inter-federations among governments and private sector organizations
worldwide. Originally launched in 2002 as part of the President's Management
Agenda, the E-Authentication Solution assists federal agencies in mitigating
the security and privacy risks associated with e-government and helps control
government costs associated with authenticating large numbers of end users.
E-Authentication Solution's move to have vendors pass Liberty Alliance
testing recognizes the important role interoperability plays in advancing the
deployment of trusted identity federations. More information about
E-Authentication Solution's SAML 2.0 interoperability requirements is
available at http://www.cio.gov/eauthentication/
"Proven interoperability of vendor products is critical to advancing
trusted identity federations quickly and on the widest possible scale," said
Tom Kireilis, Acting Program Executive, E-Authentication Solution, GSA. "The
E-Authentication Solution is requiring vendors to pass Liberty Alliance SAML
2.0 interoperability testing to help ensure products interoperate from day
one and provide immediate and long-term business value to US Government
Agencies."
Liberty Interoperable(TM) - Ensuring Wide Scale Interoperability
Liberty Alliance is the only global identity organization with a history
of testing vendor products for true interoperability of identity
specifications. Since launching the Liberty Interoperable program in 2003,
nearly 80 identity products and solutions from vendors around the world have
passed Liberty Alliance interoperability testing for Liberty Federation,
Liberty Web Services and Liberty People Service specifications. Committed to
always expanding the program to meet the growing interoperability
requirements of deploying organizations worldwide, Liberty Alliance recently
selected Drummond Group Inc. to offer a variety of new Internet and
full-matrix testing capabilities. In addition to robust interoperability
testing, Liberty Alliance holds public workshops to review vertical specific
profile requirements such as those required by the E-Authentication Solution,
where all vendors are invited to attend. A list of the products that have
passed Liberty Alliance interoperability testing to date is available at
http://projectliberty.org/liberty/liberty_interoperable/interoperable_products
"Today's news reinforces SAML 2.0 as the standard-of-choice for
identity-based applications requiring proven interoperability and the highest
levels of security and privacy protection," said Roger Sullivan, president of
the Liberty Alliance Management Board and vice president of Oracle Identity
Management. "SAML.2.0 is providing organizations in every sector with an
open, secure and flexible foundation for advancing trusted inter-federations
on a global scale."
About Liberty Alliance
Liberty Alliance is the only global identity organization with a
membership base that includes technology vendors, consumer service providers
and educational and government organizations working together to build a more
trusted Internet by addressing the technology, business and privacy aspects
of digital identity management. The Liberty Alliance Management Board
consists of representatives from AOL, Ericsson, Fidelity Investments, France
Telecom, HP, Intel, Novell, NTT, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. Liberty
Alliance works with identity organizations worldwide to ensure all voices are
included in the global identity discussion and regularly holds and
participates in public events designed to advance the harmonization and
interoperability of CardSpace, Liberty Federation (SAML 2.0), Liberty Web
Services, OpenID and WS specifications. More information about Liberty
Alliance as well as information about how to join many of its public groups
and mail lists is available at www.projectliberty.org
Web site: http://www.projectliberty.org
Russ DeVeau of Liberty Alliance, office, +1-508-487-6102, or mobile, +1-908-251-1549, russ@projectliberty.org, or russdeveau@comcast.net, AOL IM (Russ DeVeau): devcommruss