Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Approved as OASIS Standard

OASIS Members Approve Open Interoperability Standard for Information Cards

IBM, Microsoft, CA, EMC, Novell, and Others Advance Personal Digital Identity Standard

Boston, MA, USA. July 16, 2009.

OASIS, the international open standards consortium, today announced that its members have approved the Identity Metasystem Interoperability Version 1.0 specification as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level of ratification. IMI is best known as the technical protocol that enables Information Cards, a new way for people to register, login, and share information with websites without needing a new username and password for each site.

"Information Cards offer the best of both worlds — greater privacy and easier access," said Marc Goodner of Microsoft, chair of the OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Technical Committee. "As an approved OASIS Standard, IMI assures interoperability across platforms and services, which will result in Information Card usage becoming even more widespread."

Information Cards are the digital equivalent of the cards people carry in their wallet or purse. They are stored in a new application called a card selector and carry information about a person's identity and relationship to the card provider, such as their employer, bank, library, store, etc.

"Most people will have a variety of Information Cards in their card selector just like they have in their wallet today. With one click they can select the one they want to use at a particular website — no more need to remember multiple usernames and passwords," said Drummond Reed, Executive Director of the Information Card Foundation and a member of the IMI Technical Committee. "They are also the first standard way to prove information about you (such as your age, voting district, employer, or credit rating) online. IMI 1.0 becoming an OASIS Standard is a big step forward towards an easier, safer, and more productive Internet."

"We are seeing an international convergence on issues of identity, privacy and security. The OECD pointed out in 2008, in Seoul, that we need better coordination on identity theft. The recent spate of cyber-attacks makes it clear that we need better systems in place — and that means the kind of crisp standards offered by IMI," added Laurent Liscia, OASIS executive director.

IMI is offered for implementation on a royalty-free basis. Participation in the OASIS IMI Technical Committee is open to all companies, non-profit groups, governments, academic institutions, and individuals. As with all OASIS projects, archives of the Committee's work are accessible to both members and non-members, and OASIS hosts an open electronic mailing list for public comment.

Support for IMI

"The creation of the IMI standard is a significant development in the maturing and industry acceptance of the Identity Metasystem vision," said Kim Cameron, Microsoft's Chief Identity Architect. "The standard provides assurances that Information Card implementations will interoperate based on industry standards, enabling claims-based identity to be employed in real-world scenarios."

"CA is happy to have helped evolve the new standard for interoperable implementations of Information Cards for our customers," said Jeffrey Broberg, senior director at CA, Inc. "With IMI, it will be much easier for Internet sites and service providers to offer their customers easy-to-use, claims-based privacy and security that they require across a wide range of services and platforms."

Additional Information

OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Technical Committee
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/imi/

About OASIS

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) drives the development, convergence, and adoption of open standards for the global information society. A not-for-profit consortium, OASIS advances standards for SOA, security, Web services, documents, e-commerce, government and law, localisation, supply chains, XML processing, and other areas of need identified by its members. OASIS open standards offer the potential to lower cost, stimulate innovation, grow global markets, and protect the right of free choice of technology. The consortium has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries.

Press Contact

Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
Email: carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
Tel: +1.978.667.5115 x209 (office)
Tel: +1.941.284.0403 (mobile)

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See additional references in the September 2008 news story: "OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability TC Advances Information Card Use."

SEARCH Advanced Search ABOUT Site Map CP RSS Channel Contact Us Sponsoring CP About Our Sponsors NEWS Cover Stories Articles & Papers Press Releases CORE STANDARDS XML SGML Schemas XSL/XSLT/XPath XLink XML Query CSS SVG TECHNOLOGY REPORTS XML Applications General Apps Government Apps Academic Apps EVENTS LIBRARY Introductions FAQs Bibliography Technology and Society Semantics Tech Topics Software Related Standards Historic	Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Approved as OASIS Standard OASIS Members Approve Open Interoperability Standard for Information Cards IBM, Microsoft, CA, EMC, Novell, and Others Advance Personal Digital Identity Standard Boston, MA, USA. July 16, 2009. OASIS, the international open standards consortium, today announced that its members have approved the Identity Metasystem Interoperability Version 1.0 specification as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies the highest level of ratification. IMI is best known as the technical protocol that enables Information Cards, a new way for people to register, login, and share information with websites without needing a new username and password for each site. "Information Cards offer the best of both worlds — greater privacy and easier access," said Marc Goodner of Microsoft, chair of the OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Technical Committee. "As an approved OASIS Standard, IMI assures interoperability across platforms and services, which will result in Information Card usage becoming even more widespread." Information Cards are the digital equivalent of the cards people carry in their wallet or purse. They are stored in a new application called a card selector and carry information about a person's identity and relationship to the card provider, such as their employer, bank, library, store, etc. "Most people will have a variety of Information Cards in their card selector just like they have in their wallet today. With one click they can select the one they want to use at a particular website — no more need to remember multiple usernames and passwords," said Drummond Reed, Executive Director of the Information Card Foundation and a member of the IMI Technical Committee. "They are also the first standard way to prove information about you (such as your age, voting district, employer, or credit rating) online. IMI 1.0 becoming an OASIS Standard is a big step forward towards an easier, safer, and more productive Internet." "We are seeing an international convergence on issues of identity, privacy and security. The OECD pointed out in 2008, in Seoul, that we need better coordination on identity theft. The recent spate of cyber-attacks makes it clear that we need better systems in place — and that means the kind of crisp standards offered by IMI," added Laurent Liscia, OASIS executive director. IMI is offered for implementation on a royalty-free basis. Participation in the OASIS IMI Technical Committee is open to all companies, non-profit groups, governments, academic institutions, and individuals. As with all OASIS projects, archives of the Committee's work are accessible to both members and non-members, and OASIS hosts an open electronic mailing list for public comment. Support for IMI "The creation of the IMI standard is a significant development in the maturing and industry acceptance of the Identity Metasystem vision," said Kim Cameron, Microsoft's Chief Identity Architect. "The standard provides assurances that Information Card implementations will interoperate based on industry standards, enabling claims-based identity to be employed in real-world scenarios." "CA is happy to have helped evolve the new standard for interoperable implementations of Information Cards for our customers," said Jeffrey Broberg, senior director at CA, Inc. "With IMI, it will be much easier for Internet sites and service providers to offer their customers easy-to-use, claims-based privacy and security that they require across a wide range of services and platforms." Additional Information OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability (IMI) Technical Committee http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/imi/ About OASIS OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) drives the development, convergence, and adoption of open standards for the global information society. A not-for-profit consortium, OASIS advances standards for SOA, security, Web services, documents, e-commerce, government and law, localisation, supply chains, XML processing, and other areas of need identified by its members. OASIS open standards offer the potential to lower cost, stimulate innovation, grow global markets, and protect the right of free choice of technology. The consortium has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries. Press Contact Carol Geyer Director of Communications OASIS Email: carol.geyer@oasis-open.org Tel: +1.978.667.5115 x209 (office) Tel: +1.941.284.0403 (mobile) Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See additional references in the September 2008 news story: "OASIS Identity Metasystem Interoperability TC Advances Information Card Use."