Sun Leads Authentication Alliance
A group of A-list businesses is proposing an industry standard for online authentication that could compete with Microsoft's Passport. Sun Microsystems is leading a group of A-list businesses inproposing an industry standard for online authentication that
could compete with Microsoft's Passport. Among the 33 companies
backing the so-called Liberty Alliance Project are Bank of
America, Nokia, Real Networks, and General Motors.
The organization aims to create specs for a standard that rides
on top of digital-signature software. These products are supposed
to make sure that people online are who they say they are. Sun
and its partners didn't specify the technology that the project
will employ, but one Sun exec indicated the Liberty Alliance has
found Lightweight Directory Access Protocol to be a useful
protocol for authentication over the Internet. Other companies
and organizations, such as the open-source Apache Foundation,
could provide software development as well.
GM IS exec Tony Scott says no deadlines for the standard have
been set yet, but "there is a sense of urgency." Scott says lack
of a standard is the biggest barrier to "meaningful" E-commerce.
Other members of the group have said that the Liberty project is
not merely an effort to stifle Microsoft's Passport
authentication software for Web sites. But they admitted
discomfort with a single company setting the standard for what
promises to be a prominent feature of E-commerce. "Microsoft
hasn't made an attempt to open authorization," says Simon Phipps,
Sun's chief technical evangelist.
Project members also said development efforts they coordinated
will closely match the functions of Passport, which is a planned
component of Microsoft's XP operating system. Ultimately, they
see a standard that covers interactions via everything from PCs
and credit cards to TVs and dashboard computers.
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