The InCommon Assurance Program has opened for business.
More than 15 campuses already plan to apply for Silver certification in 2012, anticipating the use of applications from the National Institutes of Health, the National Student Clearinghouse, and other service providers. There is also a group of campuses working on a cookbook for using Microsoft’s Active Directory to comply with the Silver Profile.
The assurance program certifies campuses, research organizations and not-for-profit sponsored partners that meet the identity and credential management requirements for specific profiles or practices.
InCommon has two published sets of practices, Bronze and Silver, which align with the US government’s NIST levels 1 and 2, respectively. Bronze has a security level that slightly exceeds the confidence associated with a common Internet identity. Silver has a security level appropriate for financial transactions.
Central to the certification process is the Assurance Advisory Council, comprised of community members that will make certification recommendations to the InCommon Steering Committee.
An archived webinar (originally conducted on Feb. 29, 2012), includes details on the program, the certification process, and the Assurance Advisory Council. Details are also available at assurance.incommon.org.