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Single sign-on authentication: introduction. GWS-WG session, IVOA interop meeting, Kyoto, May 2005 Guy Rixon. SSO: what does it mean?. Allow the user to exercise all pre-agreed rights in the VO by signing on once, per UI, per interactive session, to any conforming UI.
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Single sign-on authentication: introduction GWS-WG session, IVOA interop meeting, Kyoto, May 2005 Guy Rixon
SSO: what does it mean? • Allow the user to exercise all pre-agreed rights in the VO by signing on once, per UI, per interactive session, to any conforming UI. • As above, but signing on once per session to any conforming UI is sufficient to make all rights available via all conforming UIs.
Basic requirements • Let resource providers make authorization decisions. • Follow “natural” patterns of access based on agreements between communities and groups. • Supply credentials to inform auth. decisions. • Unlock all user credentials with one sign-on per session. • Make it as simple as possible (but no simpler!)
Axiom: users are registered • User has to establish an identity once (single registration) to use the VO. • Have to authenticate this identity to resources to get in. • Registration generates credentials for authenticating to services.
Issue: where are users registered? • Separately by each service provider (e.g. each archive site)? • Centrally in the IVO? • Centrally in regional VO project? • In their natural community (e.g. university department)?
Issue: when are credentials issued? • At registration, direct to human user? • At session sign-on, to user’s agent?
Axiom: we support groups • Service provider grants access to groups of users • S/w making auth. decision needs access to group details and membership.
Issue: where are groups defined? • Separately at each service provider? • By user communities? • Same place as users are registered? • Somewhere else?
Axiom: we use digital signatures • For s/w agents authenticating to services: • We use public-key cryptography • We use X.509 identity certificates • Certificates issued by CAs • C.f. human users signing on to VO at start of session • Probably use passwords for that
Issue: how are certificate issued? • Who by? • National/commercial CAs (outside IVO)? • Central CA for IVO? • CAs in regional VO projects? • CAs in user communities? • To whom? • To human users (reusable, long-term cert.) • To s/w agents (single-session proxy cert.)
Axiom: we support delegation • Some work is delegated between a chain of services • e.g. Application -> workflow engine -> DAL -> VOStore. • Delegation of work implies delegation of access rights.
Issue: is delegation controlled? • Use of service implies delegation of all user’s access? • User can veto delegation? • User can specify delegation of specific right • E.g. write once to particular file on particular VOStore.