CAMP Med

Identity and Access Management:Terms and Concepts

Keith Hazelton

Sr. IT Architect, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Internet2 MACE

CAMP Med, Tempe, AZ, February 9, 2005

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Topics

• What is Identity Management (IdM)?• The IdM Stone Age• A better vision for IdM

– An aside on the value of affiliation / group / privilege management services

• Basic IdM functions mapped to NMI/MACE components

• Demands on IT and how IdM services help

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• What is Identity Management (IdM)?“Identity management is the set of business processes, and a supporting infrastructure, for the creation, maintenance, and use of digital identities.” The Burton Group (a research firm specializing in IT infrastructure for the enterprise)

• Identity Management in this sense is sometimes called “Identity and Access Management”

• What problems does Identity Management solve?

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Identity Management is…

• “Hi! I’m Lisa.” (Identity)• “…and here’s my NetID / password to prove it.”

(Authentication)• “I want to open the Portal to check my email.”

(Authorization : Allowing Lisa to use theservices for which she’s

authorized)• “And I want to change my grade in last

semester’s Physics course.”(Authorization : Preventing her from

doing things she’s not supposed to do)

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Identity Management is also…

• New hire, Assistant Professor Alice– Department wants to give her an email

account before her appointment begins so they can get her off to a running start

• How does she get into our system and get set up with the accounts and services appropriate to faculty?

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What questions are common to these scenarios?

• Are the people using these services who they claim to be?

• Are they a member of our campus community?• Have they been given permission?• Is their privacy being protected?

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As for Lisa

• Sez who?– What Lisa’s username and password are?– What she should be able to do?– What she should be prevented from doing? – Scaling to the other 40,000 just like her on

campus

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As for Professor Alice

• What accounts and services should faculty members be given?

• At what point in the hiring process should these be activated?

• Methods need to scale to 20,000 faculty and staff

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The IdM Stone Age

• List of functions:

• AuthN: Authenticate principals (people, servers) seeking access to a service or resource

• Log: Track access to services/resources

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The IdM Stone Age

• Every application for itself in performing these functions

• User list, credentials, if you’re on the list, you’re in (AuthN is authorization (AuthZ)

• As Hobbes might say: Stone age IdM “nasty, brutish & short on features”

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Vision of a better way to do IdM

• IdM as a middleware layer at the service of any number of applications

• Requires an expanded set of basic functions– Reflect: Track changes to institutional data from

changes in Systems of Record (SoR) & other IdM components

– Join: Establish & maintain person identity across SoR– …

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Your Digital Identity and The Join

• The collection of bits of identity information about you in all the relevant IT systems at your institution

• For any given person in your community, do you know which entry in each system’s data store carry bits of their identity?

• If more than one system can “create a person record,” you have identity fragmentation

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The pivotal concept of IdM: The Join

• Identity fragmentation cure #1: The Join

• Use business logic to – Establish which records correspond to the same

person

– Maintain that identity join in the face of changes to data in collected systems

• Once cross-system identity is forged, assign a unique person identifier (often a registry ID)

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Identity Information Access

• Some direct from the Enterprise Directory via reflection from SoR

• Other bits need to be made reachable by identifier crosswalks

Registry ID Sys A ID Sys B ID Sys C ID Sys D ID

3a104e59 fsmith32 86443 freds 864164

8c2f916d abecker1 45209 amyb 752731

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Identity Information Reachability

• In System B, to get info from System D– Lookup Sys D ID in identifier crosswalk– Use whatever means Sys D provides to access info

• For new apps, leverage join by carrying Registry ID as a foreign key--even if not in crosswalk

Registry ID Sys A ID Sys B ID Sys C ID Sys D ID

3a104e59 fsmith32 86443 freds 864164

8c2f916d abecker1 45209 amyb 752731

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Identity Information Reachability

• Key to reachability is less about technology, more about shared practice across system owners

Registry ID Sys A ID Sys B ID Sys C ID Sys D ID

3a104e59 fsmith32 86443 freds 864164

8c2f916d abecker1 45209 amyb 752731

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Identity Fragmentation Cure #2

• When you can’t integrate, federate• Federated Identity Management means

– Relying on the Identity Management infrastructure of one or more institutions or units

– To authenticate and pass authorization-related information to service providers or resource hosting institutions or enterprises

– Via institution-to-provider agreements– Facilitated by common membership in a

federation (like InCommon)

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Vision of a better way to do IdM

• More in the expanded set of basic functions– Credential: issue digital credentials to people in the

community– Mng. Affil.: Manage affiliation and group information– Mng. Priv.: Manage privileges and permissions at

system and resource level – Provision: Push IdM info out to systems and services

as required– Deliver: Make access control / authorization

information available to services and resources at run time

– AuthZ: Make the allow deny decision independent of AuthN

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Policy issues re “credential” function: NetID

• When to assign, activate (as early as possible)

• Who gets them? Applicants? Prospects?

• “Guest” NetIDs (temporary, identity-less)

• Reassignment (never; except…)

• Who can handle them? Argument for WebISO.

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A closer look at managing affiliations, groups and privileges

• How does this help the harried IT staff?

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Authorization, the early years

• IdM value realized only when access to services & information enabled

• Authorization support is the keystone• Crude beginnings: If you can log in, you get it

all• Call to serve non-traditional audiences

breaks this model:– Applicants– Collaborative program students

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Authorization, the early years

• First refinement on “Log in, get it all:”• Add service flags to the enterprise directory

as additional identity information– Lisa: Eligible for email– Fred: Eligible for student health services– Sam: Enrolled in Molecular Biology 432

• The horrendous scaling problem

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Authorization, the early years

• Bringing in groups to deal with the scaling problem

• Here groups are being used to carry affiliations or “roles”

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Thanks to: jbarkley@nist.gov

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Groups and affiliation management software?

• Middleware Architecture Committee for Education (MACE) in Internet2 sponsoring the Grouper project– Infrastructure at University of Chicago– User interface at Bristol University in UK– $upport from NSF Middleware Initiative (NMI)

• http://middleware.internet2.edu/dir/groups

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Role- and Privilege-based AuthZ

• Privileges are what you can do • Roles are who you are, which can be

the used for policy-based privileges • Both are viable, complementary for

authorization

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Roles (cf. eduPersonIsMemberOf)

• Inter-realm, specific privileges vary in different contexts e.g. Instructor can submit grades at one site, readonly at another

• Eligibilility (can have) instead of authorization (can do) e.g. Faculty/Staff /Students get free email from specific provider

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Privileges (cf. eduPersonEntitlement)

• Permissions should be same across service providers

• Service providers do not need to know rules behind authorizatione.g. Building access regardless of why -- has

office in building, taking class in building,

authorized by building manager

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By authority of the Dean grantor

principal investigators role (group)

who have completed training prerequisite

can approve purchases function

in the School of Medicine scope

for research projectsup to $100,000

limits

until January 1, 2006 condition

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Privilege Management software?

• Project Signet of Internet2 MACE– Development based at Stanford

– $upport from NSF Middleware Initiative

• http://middleware.internet2.edu/signet

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Basic IdM functions mapped to theNMI / MACE components

Systems of Record

Stdnt

HR

Other

Enterprise Directory

Registr

y LD

AP

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A successful enterprise directoryattracts data

• People start to see the value in reflecting data there

• App. owners start asking to put person-level specifics– Service config– Customization– Personalization

• What about non-person data?• Why do we never see “data warehouse” and

“directory” in the same book or white paper?

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Basic IdM functions mapped to theNMI / MACE components

System

s of R

ecord

Enterprise Directory

Grouper Signet

WebISO

Shibboleth

Apps / Resources

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Provisioning

System

s of R

ecord

Enterprise Directory

Grouper Signet

WebISO

Shibboleth

Apps / Resources

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Two modes of app/IdM integration

• Domesticated applications:– Provide them the full set of IdM functions

• Applications with attitude (comes in the box)– Meet them more than halfway by provisioning

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Provisioning

• Getting identity information where it needs to be

• For “Apps with Attitude,” this often means exporting reformatted information to them in a form they understand

• Using either App-provided APIs or tricks to write to their internal store

• Change happens, so this is an ongoing process

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Provisioning Service Pluses

• Provisioning decisions governed by runtime configuration, not buried in code somewhere

• Single engine for all consumers has obvious economy

• Config is basis for healing consumers with broken reflection

• Config could be basis of change management: compare as is provisioning rule to a what if rule

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Same IdM functions, different packaging

• Your IdM infrastructure (existing or planned) may have different boxes & lines

• But somewhere, somehow this set of IdM functions is getting done

• Gives us all a way to compare our solutions by looking at various packagings of the IdM functions

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Reflect Data of interest

Join Identity across SoR

Credential NetID, other

Manage Affil/Groups AuthZ info

Manage Privileges More AuthZ info

Provision For apps w attitude

Deliver Get AuthZ info to app

Authenticate Check identity claim

Authorize Make allow/deny decision

Log Track usage for audit

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Alternative packaging of basic IdM functions:

Single System of Record as Enterprise Directory

Registr

y LD

AP

Student

-HR

Info

System

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Single SoR as Enterprise Directory

• Who “owns” the system?• Do they see themselves as running shared

infrastructure?• Will any “external” populations ever become

“internal?”– What if hospital negotiates a deal?

• Stress-test alternative packaging by thinking through the list of basic IdM functions

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Alternative packaging of basic IdM

System

s of R

ecord

Enterprise Directory

Directory

Plug-ins

Kerberos

Apps / Resources

LDAP

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What is IT being asked to do?

• Automatic creation and deletion of computer accounts

• Personnel records access for legal compliance• One stop for university services (portal)

integrated with course management systems

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What else is IT being asked to do?

• Student record access for life• Submission and/or maintenance of information

online• Privacy protection

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More on the To Do list

• Stay in compliance with a growing list of policy mandates

• Increase the level of security protections in the face of a steady stream of new threats

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More on the To Do list

• Serve new populations (alumni, applicants,…)• More requests for new services and new

combinations of services• Increased interest in eBusiness

• There is an Identity Management aspect to each and every one of these items

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How full IdM layer helps

• Improves scalability: IdM process automation

• Reduces complexity of IT ecosystem– Complexity as friction (wasted resources)

• Improved user experience

• Functional specialization: App developer can concentrate on app-specific functionality

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Reflect Data of interest

Join Identity across SoR

Credential NetID, other

Manage Affil/Groups AuthZ info

Manage Privileges More AuthZ info

Provision For apps w attitude

Deliver Get AuthZ info to app

Authenticate Check identity claim

Authorize Make allow/deny decision

Log Track usage for audit

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Appendix: IdM and the rise of policy concerns

• New systems and applications have come in two primary ways

1. A campus unit approaches a central IT group to build a new application

2. Some Request for Proposal (RFP) process leads to a new system

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1) A campus unit approaches a Central IT group to build a new application

• If the IT group encountered policy issues– It had no standard place to turn for answers– Technologists either made policy decisions– Or they referred the issue back to the requestor– Or, sometimes, the project stalled

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2) RFP process leads to purchase of a new system

• If the new system affected business process and/or policies

– The campus struggled to create a forum to address the issues

– Or the effect was not noticed until after go-live– Or implementors did their best to work around

the problems– Or, sometimes, the project stalled

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Responding to requests:A new approach at UW-Madison

• Campus leaders are defining new ways of channeling and responding to requests

• Groups like the AuthNZ Coordinating Team (ACT) anticipate policy issues and sort through the concerns

• They route findings and recommendations to the CIO office

• The CIO Office take the issue to an appropriate campus body*

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Responding to requests:A new approach

• The Identity Management Leadership Group (IMLG) will provide leadership on IdM issues when responding to:

• Submission and/or maintenance of information online

• Privacy protection• Increased compliance demands• Increased security threats

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Why a new group?

• Technology is now more robust and services are considered foundational to the institution

• Broader scope, e.g., new populations

• New policy issues and more of them

• Need for flexibility and quick turn-around time

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One key resource to help you start building the IdM infrastructure

• Enterprise Directory Implementation Roadmaphttp://www.nmi-edit.org/roadmap/ directories.html

• Parallel project planning paths:– Technology/Architecture

– Policy/Management