Microsoft is developing new security software it hopes will make Web services and its entire product lineup more appealing to big companies.
The software maker will announce plans Thursday for technology code-named TrustBridge that will allow businesses to authenticate user identities between companies and applications using Web services standards.
With TrustBridge--which will debut next year--Microsoft is attempting to solve a common problem faced by workers in big companies: too many user identifications and passwords, said Adam Sohn, a product manager at Microsoft.
While Microsoft's existing Passport single sign-on ID system is targeted at consumers, TrustBridge will let business users log onto Windows-based systems hosted locally, or remotely at partner companies, using a single ID. That ID can be created through Passport, Active Directory, Microsoft's directory server software included with Windows, or through any other ID system on any operating system that supports Keberos, a network security standard.
Kerberos is already supported by Microsoft in its Windows operating system. The software was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Microsoft has not yet decided how to package TrustBridge, Sohn said. It could become part of the Windows operating system or it may be sold as a separate software product. Hmmm, lemme guess!?!
News source: c | net
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