Assurance

[Ann West <>]

Happy New Year!

Hello all and welcome back.

We've been working hard on the Assurance Program over the last several 
months. 
It's time for a community update:

- Application Process - Some of you have asked what to expect, and we're 
still pointing folks to the IAAF section 4 for information on what you'll 
need to send us to be certified. You'll also include a Data Sheet that will 
give us basic information like the entity ids that you'd like certified, 
requested profile(s), etc. And no worries, we're also developing an 
easy-to-read summary of the program submission process.

- Technical InterOp - As you may know, we'll be using SAML's AuthnContext to 
request and send the Assurance Qualifier. Scott Cantor and Tom Scavo, as well 
as CILogon's Jim Basney and Terry Fleury have developed an initial draft of 
over-the-wire behavior for IdPs and SPs. We'll be testing and refining it 
further this month with the Community InterOp Team. You can review the draft 
on the Assurance wiki: 
https://spaces.internet2.edu/display/InCAssurance/InCommon+Assurance+Program 
as well as two case studies from our last testing, thanks to Virginia Tech 
and UW-Milwaukee.

- Legal Agreement - We're also finalizing the legal agreement and getting 
community feedback on that. The agreement will also be reviewed by the 
federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management Program as part of our 
compliance to becoming a fully approved Federal Trust Framework Provider. 

- Assurance Advisory Committee (AAC) - The AAC (an advisory committee of the 
InCommon Steering Committee) will be the group reviewing and making 
recommendations to Steering regarding applications for certifications. In 
December, the Steering Committee approved the group's charter and roster, and 
this week, I will begin inviting community members to serve.

- Implementation Guidance - Once certified, we'll be asking you to post a 
publicly-readable (anonymized?) version of your practices on the Assurance 
wiki for others to view. Currently, we're gathering planning documents and 
approaches. If you have something that you'd like to contribute, just let us 
know.

- Pricing. 

As you you can see, there are a number of things we need to wrap up before we 
start the certification process. As a result, we'll be opening our doors 
during the first part of February.  Looking forward to seeing your 
application there! 

Best,
Ann

-- 
Ann West
Assistant Director,
Assurance and Community
Internet2/InCommon/Michigan Tech 

 
office: +1.906.487.1726