A Modular and Flexible Identity Management Architecture for National eID Solutions

Thomas Lenz, Bernd Zwattendorfer

2015

Abstract

Identification and authentication are essential processes in various areas of application where access to sensitive data needs to be protected and regulated. To achieve this, usually identity-management systems are put into place, where an identity provider manages digital identities and handles the identification and authentication process for a service provider, which hosts the protected data. Identity management is no new topic and hence several identity management systems have evolved over time. However, new rising requirements also demand modifications and improvements in the field of identity management. In particular, the need for exchanging or federating identities across domains or even borders requires new interoperable solutions and flexible identity management architectures. In this paper we present a flexible and modular identity management architecture which focuses on federation and interoperability capabilities based on plug-able components. Due to that, new arising requirements such as the support of different authentication protocols can be easily fulfilled by implementing appropriate plug-ins. Hence, our proposed architecture is especially applicable for high qualified identification systems such as national eIDs and their federation across borders. We further illustrate the applicability of our architecture by implementing it to be used as an identity provider for Austrian eGovernment applications, on the one side being applicable for national authentications and, on the other side, in a cross-border context.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Lenz T. and Zwattendorfer B. (2015). A Modular and Flexible Identity Management Architecture for National eID Solutions . In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST, ISBN 978-989-758-106-9, pages 321-331. DOI: 10.5220/0005443103210331

in Bibtex Style

@conference{webist15,
author={Thomas Lenz and Bernd Zwattendorfer},
title={A Modular and Flexible Identity Management Architecture for National eID Solutions},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST,},
year={2015},
pages={321-331},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0005443103210331},
isbn={978-989-758-106-9},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST,
TI - A Modular and Flexible Identity Management Architecture for National eID Solutions
SN - 978-989-758-106-9
AU - Lenz T.
AU - Zwattendorfer B.
PY - 2015
SP - 321
EP - 331
DO - 10.5220/0005443103210331