March 3, 2006 4:00 AM PST
What's behind open-source ID push?
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Big Blue appears to have a pretty clear concept of what it wants to do with Higgins, Burton Group analyst Mike Neuenschwander said. "They haven't told us everything that is going on, but I don't think this is a PR stunt. They have real engineers on it who have architected what they have been doing in identity management," he said.
Spot the difference
InfoCard and Higgins both promise to give people more control of their personal data when doing business online. The systems also should work with the multiple authentication systems on the Net, making it easier for people to manage Web logins and passwords.
But there are differences.
InfoCard is a Windows component that provides a user interface on PCs and services that allow the user to transact with service providers (such as online stores) and identity providers (such as credit card companies).
Higgins is broader in scope. It is a software framework designed to interconnect the various identity systems, and to help InfoCard and other existing identity management products interoperate. As such, it could lead to alternatives to InfoCard being created.
However, Neuenschwander did point out that there isn't much concrete information about the project or what it seeks to achieve. Furthermore, it is an open-source effort--IBM and Novell do not own or control the project, he noted.
"All IBM and Novell have really done is stated support for Higgins, and they want to take it in some direction that is beneficial to them. It leaves us to speculate," he said.
IBM and Novell conceded that there isn't much tangible about the effort. Indeed, the announcement was made to draw attention to the previously low-key open-source project, managed by the Eclipse Foundation and named after a long-tailed Tasmanian mouse. "It is early, and we want to kick-start it," Nadalin said.
Work will be done on timelines and specific usage examples, Olds said. "We're going to do some work on use case scenarios and are in the process of reworking the road map for what comes next," he said. "But traditionally, for open-source projects the road map is developed as the code evolves."
Background to InfoCard
Microsoft has described InfoCard as a technology that gives people a single place to manage authentication and payment information, in the same way a wallet holds multiple credit cards. An InfoCard client on a PC will connect with Web sites that need information for authentication or transactions.
Both InfoCard and Higgins take into account criticism of Microsoft's largely failed efforts with Passport, a single sign-on service unveiled in 1999. In the Passport system, people's information was managed by Microsoft instead of by the users themselves and the businesses they dealt with. This centralization of data is generally seen as the reason for the system's lack of popularity.
Microsoft is planning to update Passport and rename it Windows Live ID by next year. The service will make use of new InfoCard technology, a Microsoft representative said. Announced in November, "Windows Live" is the umbrella brand for a number of online services, including Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Messenger.
For now, Higgins is only real for software developers. IBM and Novell would like other vendors to participate, including identity management leaders such as Computer Associates, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and BMC Software.
"I think that a framework like this is the next logical step in the identity market and participation from a large number of vendors would be very valuable," Olds said. "However, I don't think it is required before this is a valuable step in and of itself."
While IBM and Novell see a clear future for Higgins, Burton Group's Neuenschwander is uncertain.
"To say where is this project going to be 12 months from now and what is it going to do--it is like predicting the weather a year from now," he said.
See more CNET content tagged:
Microsoft Windows CardSpace, identity management, Novell Inc., IBM Corp., identity
22 comments
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'It is too amorphous--the picture is cloudy. It looks like it might develop into a very interesting picture, but what are the odds (of that happening)? We don't know,' Forrester Research analyst Michael Gavin said."
How come this was never said with Vista or any other Mircosoft announced product? They announce vaporware all the time.
'It is too amorphous--the picture is cloudy. It looks like it might develop into a very interesting picture, but what are the odds (of that happening)? We don't know,' Forrester Research analyst Michael Gavin said."
How come this was never said with Vista or any other Mircosoft announced product? They announce vaporware all the time.
as in "why would anyone want/need an 'identity
management' system".
As for why IBM or Novell might mention it,
that's pretty obvious, isn't it -- to let people
know that MS isn't the only game in town.
Further, they have the distinct advantage in
that the majority of the system already exists
as discrete open source components. For them,
there's a little glue to write, but mostly it's
an issue of writing up a standard for deploying
it -- and packaging it.
Of course the Forrester guy thinks it's
ambiguous. By design it's not a product, but a
rather a protocol that can be implemented using
existing off-the-shelf open-source or
proprietary tools.
As far as why anyone would want identity
management software -- for consumers, they want
it because they know companies they do business
with want it and without being on board they'll
be left out in the cold, companies like IBM and
Novell want it because it sells software and
services, vendors want it because even if it
isn't more secure it might provide more
opportunities to recoup losses through
litigation, and criminals want it because though
it will be hard to commit fraud initially, once
intimately familiar with the system you'll be
able to play it like a fiddle for fun and
profit.
as in "why would anyone want/need an 'identity
management' system".
As for why IBM or Novell might mention it,
that's pretty obvious, isn't it -- to let people
know that MS isn't the only game in town.
Further, they have the distinct advantage in
that the majority of the system already exists
as discrete open source components. For them,
there's a little glue to write, but mostly it's
an issue of writing up a standard for deploying
it -- and packaging it.
Of course the Forrester guy thinks it's
ambiguous. By design it's not a product, but a
rather a protocol that can be implemented using
existing off-the-shelf open-source or
proprietary tools.
As far as why anyone would want identity
management software -- for consumers, they want
it because they know companies they do business
with want it and without being on board they'll
be left out in the cold, companies like IBM and
Novell want it because it sells software and
services, vendors want it because even if it
isn't more secure it might provide more
opportunities to recoup losses through
litigation, and criminals want it because though
it will be hard to commit fraud initially, once
intimately familiar with the system you'll be
able to play it like a fiddle for fun and
profit.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.digitalidworld.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=326&mode=chrono&order=0&thold=0" target="_newWindow">http://www.digitalidworld.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=326&mode=chrono&order=0&thold=0</a>
and also here
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2006/03/higgins-infocard-and-conspiracy.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2006/03/higgins-infocard-and-conspiracy.html</a>
for the challenges it poses for Sun
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.digitalidworld.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=326&mode=chrono&order=0&thold=0" target="_newWindow">http://www.digitalidworld.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=326&mode=chrono&order=0&thold=0</a>
and also here
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2006/03/higgins-infocard-and-conspiracy.html" target="_newWindow">http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2006/03/higgins-infocard-and-conspiracy.html</a>
for the challenges it poses for Sun
Open is better for everyone and more secure then a locked system where you don't know what the hell is going on behind the scenes.
Open is better for everyone and more secure then a locked system where you don't know what the hell is going on behind the scenes.
Regarding the maturity of "Higgins" (or lack of same), I see no reason for the IBM/Novell consortium to be in any particular hurry. What was the last security/privacy initiative from MS that they didn't royally screw up? Remember "MS Wallet"?
Simply put, the solution to the marketplace isn't coming from MSN due to trust restrictions and not from IBM and crew because they are like mice who are too fat to get away from the cat down the hole.
The marketplace is ready and it will take a lot to stop what is coming, a real solution by a real credible player that serves the wholesale market but put its product universally in the hands of the consumer who doesn't trust anyone else anyway.
Big brother failed, banks fail, Visa failed, Amex failed, MasterCard and all the security companies failed however the FFIEC says solve it so it will be solved because that is a virtual franchise waiting for a real patented solution that works.
That's what I think. Ciao now.
Simply put, the solution to the marketplace isn't coming from MSN due to trust restrictions and not from IBM and crew because they are like mice who are too fat to get away from the cat down the hole.
The marketplace is ready and it will take a lot to stop what is coming, a real solution by a real credible player that serves the wholesale market but put its product universally in the hands of the consumer who doesn't trust anyone else anyway.
Big brother failed, banks fail, Visa failed, Amex failed, MasterCard and all the security companies failed however the FFIEC says solve it so it will be solved because that is a virtual franchise waiting for a real patented solution that works.
That's what I think. Ciao now.
Regarding the maturity of "Higgins" (or lack of same), I see no reason for the IBM/Novell consortium to be in any particular hurry. What was the last security/privacy initiative from MS that they didn't royally screw up? Remember "MS Wallet"?
Simply put, the solution to the marketplace isn't coming from MSN due to trust restrictions and not from IBM and crew because they are like mice who are too fat to get away from the cat down the hole.
The marketplace is ready and it will take a lot to stop what is coming, a real solution by a real credible player that serves the wholesale market but put its product universally in the hands of the consumer who doesn't trust anyone else anyway.
Big brother failed, banks fail, Visa failed, Amex failed, MasterCard and all the security companies failed however the FFIEC says solve it so it will be solved because that is a virtual franchise waiting for a real patented solution that works.
That's what I think. Ciao now.
Simply put, the solution to the marketplace isn't coming from MSN due to trust restrictions and not from IBM and crew because they are like mice who are too fat to get away from the cat down the hole.
The marketplace is ready and it will take a lot to stop what is coming, a real solution by a real credible player that serves the wholesale market but put its product universally in the hands of the consumer who doesn't trust anyone else anyway.
Big brother failed, banks fail, Visa failed, Amex failed, MasterCard and all the security companies failed however the FFIEC says solve it so it will be solved because that is a virtual franchise waiting for a real patented solution that works.
That's what I think. Ciao now.