SDSS: Expert Group in Identity Management

The EDINA SDSS team was recently designated by JISC as an Expert Group in Identity Management. This project is funded until 31st July 2010.

The Expert Group has been created in order to

Develop the technical base underpinning the UK Access Management Federation for Education and Research. The UK federation makes use of Shibboleth technology to provide an access management framework intended for use across the whole education and research sector. The technology is thus of key strategic importance for UK education and research – but is also leading-edge and therefore in need of careful risk management.
Maintain UK expertise in the technology to guarantee the security of service provision and maintenance. The UK is heavily dependent on access to a stable codebase for the Shibboleth framework and on establishing and maintaining a development path aligned to UK future requirements. Shibboleth is not a UK technology, so indigenous expertise needs to be fully developed.
Provide expert and timely advice on policy and technology to JISC and its partners in order to manage risks.
Inform the community of middleware trends and inform JISC by reporting and assessing initiatives elsewhere by maintaining a broadly-based identity management technology watch.

The Expert Group has been given a wide scope and remit to contribute directly to meeting these challenges.