Blog from September, 2011

IAM Online - Wednesday, October 12, 2011

3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT / 1 p.m. MT / Noon PT
www.incommon.org/iamonline


Governance of Identity and Access Management at Institutions of Higher Education

It is widely accepted that "governance" is an important foundation for an effective campus identity and access management program.  Getting started in the governance process is typically challenging, as is reconciling related governance processes for IT, information security, and data.  Moving towards federated identity management adds additional complexity.  This panel will explore a variety of governance approaches and will offer advice for getting started, gaining momentum, and sustaining efforts.


Speakers:
Brendan Bellina, Identity Services Architect and Manager of Enterprise Middleware Identity Management, University of Southern California
Matthew Dalton, Director of Information Security, Ohio University
Keith Hazelton, Senior IT Architect, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Moderator:
Rodney Petersen, Senior Government Relations Officer & Managing Director of Washington Office, EDUCAUSE


Connecting
We use Adobe Connect for slide sharing and audio: http://internet2.adobeconnect.com/iam-online. For more details, see www.incommon.org/iamonline.


ABOUT IAM Online
IAM Online is a monthly online education series including essentials of federated identity management, hot topics from the EDUCAUSE Identity and Access Management Working Group, and emerging topics in IAM. Experts provide overviews, answer questions and lead discussions. IAM is brought to you by InCommon in cooperation with Internet2 and the EDUCAUSE Identity and Access Management Working Group.

The InCommon Policy Forum will be Netcast live from the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting, Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 3-4 p.m. EDT.

The policy forum is an opportunity for discussions related to InCommon policy issues (there is a separate technical forum, which is not being Netcast). Any InCommon participant is welcome to attend. For Netcast viewers, this is a one-way process---there is no provision for full remote participation.

The draft agenda for the policy forum includes:

  • A proposal to simplify the process (for certain services) of adding a new identity provider. This group of service providers would be tagged as Research and Scholarship services. Under the proposal, the identity providers would release a default bundle of attributes (such as name, email, affiliation, and userID) to such providers. 
  • Emerging details of the Assurance Program (e.g. Bronze and Silver), expected to roll out in early 2012. The Assurance Program will provide certification for identity providers seeking to access federated services that require greater security.
  • Governance, recommended practices, and other issues.

There are a number of other sessions of interest in the middleware and federation focus areas, including an update on Internet2 Net+ services, a session on federation and K-12, and both of the general sessions (Tuesday and Wednesday).

Information on connecting to Netcasts is at:  http://events.internet2.edu/2011/fall-mm/

InCommon News - September 7, 2011

InCommon includes 326 participants (230 higher ed, 12 government research centers and agencies, and 84 sponsored partners)

In This Issue:

  • Ann West Assumes Responsibility for Assurance Program
  • Shibboleth Installation Workshops Nov. 7-8 in Long Beach, CA
  • Research.gov Provides Quick Reference Guide
  • EDUCAUSE Supports Federated Login to Collaboration Site
  • U of Wisconsin-Madison: InCommon Opens Door for Researchers
  • InCommon, PESC Announce Strategic Partnership
  • New Participants for August
  • AegisUSA, Fischer International Featured Affiliates

Ann West Assumes Responsibility for Assurance Program

We are pleased to announce that Ann West has assumed responsibility for managing the InCommon Assurance Program (e.g., InCommon Bronze and Silver). West, who joined Internet2 in 2001 to lead the outreach work for the Internet2/EDUCAUSE shared NSF awards, is now Assistant Director, InCommon Assurance and Community and also has responsibility for the Affiliate Program, service provider outreach, and strategic relationships.

Shibboleth Installation Workshops Nov. 7-8 in Long Beach, CA

Registration is open for the next InCommon Shibboleth Workshops, November 7-8, 2011, in Long Beach, California. The workshops provide attendees with technical installation and configuration experience with Shibboleth. For more information and to register, visit www.incommon.org/educate/shibboleth.

Research.gov Provides Quick Reference Guide

The National Science Foundation’s research.gov site has provided a quick reference guide for institutions interested in accessing the site’s services via federated identity management. Go to www.research.gov/common/attachment/Common/InCommonGettingStartedGuide.pdf

EDUCAUSE Supports Federated Login to Collaboration Site

EDUCAUSE has revamped the login for its shared team collaboration site, collaborate.educause.edu, to support federated identity management. Now when EDUCAUSE members go to the site, they can use their university-issued credentials for access.

U of Wisconsin-Madison: InCommon Opens Door for Researchers

Steve Devoti, UW-Madison, explains how InCommon and federated identity management benefit researchers and collaboration: http://goo.gl/XbC5E

InCommon, PESC Announce Strategic Partnership

PESC, which promotes implementation and use of data exchange standards, and InCommon have announced a strategic partnership to work together on projects of common interest. The first project aims to simplify the admissions process for students transitioning from high school to college. https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/x/7KOKAQ

New Participants in August

Higher Education

  • Beaufort County Community College (www.beaufortccc.edu)
  • Eastern Kentucky University (www.eku.edu)
  • Galludet University (www.galludet.edu)
  • Millersville University of Pennsylvania (www.millersville.edu)
  • Shippensburg University (www.ship.edu)
  • Weill Cornell Medical College (www.med.cornell.edu)
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute (www.wpi.edu)

Sponsored Partners

  • Accessible Learning Management (www.accessiblelearning.com)
  • Atomic Learning (www.AtomicLearning.com/highered)
  • CourseSmart (www.coursesmart.com)
  • Omni Update (www.omniupdate.com)
  • Smithsonian Institution (www.si.edu)
  • SteadyRain (www.steadyrain.com)

About Atomic Learning

Atomic Learning provides award-winning resources for technology integration and support, student training, and 21st century professional development. Online and on-demand, Atomic Learning creates flexible training opportunities---making it easy for learners of all ages to embrace technology. And now as a member of the InCommon federation, other federation members can experience the added convenience of secure single signon to our solution through Shibboleth authentication. Find your solution at www.AtomicLearning.com/highed.

About CourseSmart

CourseSmart provides instant online access to over 90 percent of the core textbooks in use today in North American higher education. CourseSmart is the world's largest provider of digital course materials. Faculty at InCommon participant institutions have access, free of charge using their single sign-on credentials, to search more than 20,000 titles by key word, title, author, or ISBN; and to request review copies of e-textbooks. Please contact colleges@coursesmart.com for more information. www.coursesmart.com

About OmniUpdate

OmniUpdate is the leading web content management system (CMS) provider for higher education. OmniUpdate's enterprise web CMS, OU Campus(TM), empowers institutions to effectively manage and enhance their web presence and take advantage of the latest web and mobile technologies. OU Campus is secure and scalable, offering a complete feature set, extensible tools, and deployment flexibility supported by exceptional customer service and extensive community resources. More than 550 college and university websites are managed using OU Campus. www.omniupdate.com

About SteadyRain

SteadyRain, a full service digital agency based in St. Louis MO, has expert knowledge that spans the entire life cycle of an Internet project. Our expertise includes, but is not limited to, strategic planning and conceptualization, database architecture, graphic design, web application development, and application maintenance services. SteadyRain offers additional products and services such as online marketing consulting, social media strategy development, search engine marketing strategy and mobile technology development. SteadyRain’s commitment to customer service is unmatched in the industry. The goal, always, is to increase profit, decrease cost, increase efficiency and/or to help our clients develop a competitive advantage in the marketplace. www.steadyrain.com

Featured InCommon Affiliates

AegisUSA is an identity management and access management solution provider with deep expertise in Higher Education. With more than 60 higher-ed clients, AegisUSA’s solutions include TridentHE, the first identity suite designed for higher education, and professional services to implement Shibboleth, CAS, and other IAM products. Aegis’s Identity Appliances solve many of the common IAM problems in higher ed, including password management, SSO, and federation. Aegis’s Federated Identity Appliance based on Shibboleth provides turnkey, production-ready infrastructure necessary to enable federated SSO with members of the InCommon Federation. See the AegisUSA website (www.aegisusa.com) for more information.


Fischer International’s award-winning identity management solution includes its “Federation On-Ramp,” a low-cost, managed solution that provides institutions with an immediate entry-way to the InCommon Federation and without having to dedicate or hire skilled resources to deploy and manage a federation infrastructure. Fischer takes care of all the details, from Source of Authority integration and IdP/SP metadata configuration, to 24/7 monitoring, backups, audit & reporting, and solution maintenance. Federation On-Ramp also includes a self-service Access Request Portal for InCommon resources with optional approval workflows. IAM capabilities can be easily added to address other IAM challenges such as temporary/guest access, orphan account remediation, self-service password reset & synchronization, automated role and account management, and more. For additional information, visit www.fischerinternational.com.


InCommon News is published for InCommon participants and other interested parties. InCommon is an LLC of Internet2. Send feedback or comments to info@incommon.org.
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Shibboleth Workshop Series

Identity Provider * November 7, 2011 * 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (PT)
Service Provider * November 8, 2011 * 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (PT)

The California State University Chancellor’s Office * Long Beach, CA
www.incommon.org/educate/shibboleth/


Register now for the Shibboleth Workshop Series, November 7-8, 2011, at the California State University Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach, Calif.

Have you decided to deploy a web single sign-on (SSO) system and leverage it to access resources and contracted services through InCommon? Do you need training on installation and support?

Consider attending one or both:

  • Shibboleth Identity Provider Workshop on November 7, 2011
  • Shibboleth Service Provider Workshop on November 8, 2011

The InCommon Shibboleth Identity and Service Provider Workshops will provide attendees with technical installation and configuration experience with Shibboleth Single Sign-on and Federating Software, version 2.

Developed for organizations new to Shibboleth and those with existing implementations interested in upgrading to the v2 release, the workshops will offer attendees the chance to:

  • Install either a prototype Shibboleth identity or service provider in a virtual machine environment.
  • Hear tips for configuring and running the software in production.
  • Learn about integration with LDAP directories and selected packages.

AUDIENCE includes higher education and partner organization representatives with knowledge of identity management concepts and related implementation experience. Organizations are encouraged to send one or two attendees who best represent the following functions:

  • System install, integration, and ongoing support staff
  • Campus technology architects

REGISTER SOON (http://www.incommon.org/educate/shibboleth/registration.html) to reserve a seat. Participation is limited to maintain program quality. For those staying overnight, there is a list of hotels on the workshop website (www.incommon.org/educate/shibboleth). NOTE: There is a separate registration process and fee for each workshop (IdP and SP). If you wish to attend both days, be sure to register for each.

RESOURCES: To learn more about Shibboleth, see shibboleth.internet2.edu. More information on federated identity can be found at www.incommon.org.

THIS SHIBBOLETH WORKSHOP SERIES event is sponsored by InCommon, Internet2, the California Community College system, and the California State University.