Identity management

By Denise Dubie, NetworkWorld.com, 05/05/03

Identity management is the latest technology straddling multiple groups in an IT department: security; directories; and management. The software that proposes to automatically ask, on behalf of corporate IT departments, each network and/or Web user, "Who are you? And what do you have access to?" is gaining steam across enterprise companies as more network managers realize it can help save money by automating redundant IT tasks.

Research shows security requirements in legislation such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and ongoing Department of Homeland Security initiatives, has IT departments looking more closely at identity management as well.

But the benefits can only be enjoyed if the software is properly deployed and integrated across networks, systems, databases, applications and directories. And that's a big if, according to one industry watcher.

"No one vendor seems to offer best-of-breed, end-to-end [identity management] so major identity management initiatives are usually a three-vendor deal with a big systems integrator," says Earl Perkins, a senior program director with Meta Group.

Sun just last week partnered with niche-vendor Thor Technologies to offer an integrated identity management package to its customers. Others, such as Computer Associates and IBM Tivoli, feature suites of three to five products to address the multiple requirements of an identity management bundle: provisioning, password management, single sign-on, authentication and so on.

To read more about identity management and the issues surrounding the technology, check out these links. As standards groups such as The Liberty Alliance work toward creating ways to allow identity management over the Web, how far along are you with your internal users? Do you check IDs across your net? Let me know at ddubie@nww.com.

Read more

ID management software gathers steam
Network World, 05/05/03.

Corp. security spending not in line with real-world requirements
Network World, 05/05/03.

Microsoft server to tackle ID mgmt.
Network World, 05/05/03.

The Liberty Alliance

What is Identity Management?
Information Security magazine, 4/02.

Plan on SAML for identity mgmt.
Network World, 08/19/02.

Users wary of ID mgmt. complexity
Network World, 07/22/02.

Identity management boundaries
Network World on Identity Management newsletter, 02/24/03.

Identity management begins with the humble password
Network World, 10/21/02.

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