The meeting was organized by the Mobile
and Directory Challenge team of The Open Group, supported by the Identity Management Work Area.
The Challenge was set up to explore the use of directories to support mobile computing.
It has identified lack of a mobile identity management framework as a major roadblock.
With mobile voice communication services, we are used to free roaming between networks
with single-source billing. But mobile data communication service provision is fragmented,
and roaming requires separate authentication and billing arrangements with each network.
This is partly for historical reasons, and partly because access permission and security
issues are more complex for data than for voice.
The objectives of the meeting were to:
- Develop understanding of the identity management issues for mobile computing, and
- Lay the foundations for work on a solution.
The meeting was chaired by Ed Harrington of EPH Associates, Mobile and Directory Work
Area Chair. It consisted of presentations of the issues and background, followed by a
discussion.
Chris Apple of DSI Consulting gave a presentation that
described the Mobile and Directory Challenge and the work done to date.
Chris Harding of The Open Group gave a presentation on Mobile Identities.
He described the kinds of identifier used to identify a roaming user and his or her
computing and communications equipment, and the use of those identifiers by service
providers. He concluded by posing some basic identity management questions that must be
resolved to enable the Challenge to proceed.
Wayne Clark, of Cisco, gave The Network Equipment
Supplier's Viewpoint. He described the networking infrastructure required to support
wireless communications for roaming users, and the management interfaces available for
monitoring and control of that equipment.
Gavenraj Sodhi, of Computer Associates, gave The Solution Provider's
Viewpoint. He described the identity management components required and available to
support mobile computing.
Finally, Michele Rubenstein of BAH gave The Regulatory Authority
Viewpoint. She described the issues that are arousing interest and concern within US
government agencies. At present, that concern is related more to preservation of critical
infrastructure than to introducing regulation affecting day-to-day use of mobile
communications by private individuals.
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion. The following points were made:
- Convergence between the cellular and IP communities is beginning to appear.
- It may be that identity management becomes more of a problem in the cellular space:
there are now more that 500 GSM providers.
- The relevance of detailed network information to the identity management issues is not
immediately apparent.
- No clear winner has yet become established in the standards arena. The Liberty Alliance
has produced useful-looking standards for federated identity.
- The OMA has a work item proposal for identity management in the mobile space.
Co-operation with them could be valuable.
- US government work on PKI continues in the Federal Identity Credentialling Committee.
Liaison with this could be valuable also.
