Identity management systems: Models, standards, and COTS offerings

Identity management is the administration of an individual's access rights and privileges in the form of authentication and authorization within or across systems and organizations. An Identity Management system (IdM) helps manage an individual's credentials through the establishment, maintenance, and eventual destruction of their digital identity. Numerous products, applications, and platforms exist to address the privacy requirements of individuals and organizations. This chapter highlights the importance of IdM systems in the highly vulnerable security scenario that we live in. It defines and elaborates on the attributes and requirements of an effective identity management system. The chapter helps in establishing an understanding of frameworks that IdM systems follow while helping the reader contrast between different IdM architecture models. The latter part of this chapter elaborates on some of today's most popular IdM solutions.