Federated Identity Management - We Built It; Why Won't They Come?

M any companies take advantage of single-sign-on (SSO) technologies. After a successful login, the authentication service sends the computer a security token, which is subsequently forwarded as proof of authentication each time that computer accesses a protected service. Examples of services linked through SSO include access to network drives, email services, a corporate intranet, project portals, and secured wireless networks. Only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for all these systems to link to a common access control solution. In the last decade, the SSO model has been extended from intra-organizational use to allow collaboration on identity management across organizational boundaries and security domains. This is known as federated identity management (FIM). A user authenticates to the local organization, obtains a security token, and uses this token to access resources in other organizations. From a user’s perspective, FIM benefits include1