[Fwd: [xml-dev] Blended Authentication (AKA "Granular Access Control")]

["Chiusano Joseph" <chiusano_joseph@bah.com>]

I sent this to the XML-DEV list this morning, and would also like to
solicit feedback from some of the security experts on our TC. For those
on both lists, sorry for the duplicate posting.

Thanks,
Joe

---

• From: "Chiusano Joseph" <chiusano_joseph@bah.com>
• To: xml-dev@lists.xml.org
• Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 09:05:15 -0400

I have a question regarding security, particularly authentication and
access control. My objective is to present a concept, and find out if
this concept is currently being implemented in any XML-based open
standards. The standards that I am familiar with (without listing them)
do not, according to my understanding, take into account this concept.

The concept is this: authentication of not only a user for access
control to a resource, but a combination of the user *and* a resource -
i.e. "blended authentication". For example, suppose that we have the
following very simple scenario of 2 users (USER1 and USER2) accessing a
system (SYSTEM A) that further accesses another system (SYSTEM B). It is
assumed that all access would be through Web services:

	    -----------		  -----------
           |           |         |           |
 USER1---->|	       |-------->|           |
	   |  SYSTEM   |         |  SYSTEM   |	
	   |     A     |         |     B     |
 USER2---->|	       |         |           |
 	   |	       |         |           |
  	    -----------           -----------

The above scenario indicates that both USER1 and USER2 are successfully
authenticated by SYSTEM A. However, when it is required that SYSTEM A
accesses SYSTEM B (perhaps for a database lookup), only USER1 is
authenticated to SYSTEM B. This is because the authentication by SYSTEM
B took into account not only USER1's credentials (X.509 cert, Kerberos
ticket, SAML assertion, etc.), but the fact that USER1 was accessing
SYSTEM B from SYSTEM A. So, USER2 may very well be authenticated to
access SYSTEM B from some other system - just not from SYSTEM A.

[Getting into implementation for a second] It appears that this type of
authentication could be enforced through some sort of security-related
extensions to WSDL, so that it can be controlled at a Service level.

Taking that one step further, such authentication could even be enforced
at the Operation level, Message level, etc.

Any thoughts/comments on this would be greatly welcome and appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Joe Chiusano
Booz | Allen | Hamilton

begin:vcard 
n:Chiusano;Joseph
tel;work:(703) 902-6923
x-mozilla-html:FALSE
url:www.bah.com
org:Booz | Allen | Hamilton;IT Digital Strategies Team
adr:;;8283 Greensboro Drive;McLean;VA;22012;
version:2.1
email;internet:chiusano_joseph@bah.com
title:Senior Consultant
fn:Joseph M. Chiusano
end:vcard

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The xml-dev list is sponsored by XML.org <http://www.xml.org>, an
initiative of OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org>

The list archives are at http://lists.xml.org/archives/xml-dev/

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription
manager: <http://lists.xml.org/ob/adm.pl>

---

begin:vcard 
n:Chiusano;Joseph
tel;work:(703) 902-6923
x-mozilla-html:FALSE
url:www.bah.com
org:Booz | Allen | Hamilton;IT Digital Strategies Team
adr:;;8283 Greensboro Drive;McLean;VA;22012;
version:2.1
email;internet:chiusano_joseph@bah.com
title:Senior Consultant
fn:Joseph M. Chiusano
end:vcard