Study On Web Service-based Universal Authentication

With the development of information technology, many kinds of network-based application can be found in current business works. For running business properly, users have to login different applications. Considerate the security aspect, the authentication of users is a required part of each application. Due to the independent attribute of each application, users have to logon and logoff for visiting other applications. It is a challenge for nowadays authentication system to provide a solution to simplify the processing of user's logins and keep security of each application.Traditional universal authentication systems, such as Kerberos and PKI, have been implemented in some situation. But, the too much modification for the current applications and relatively complicated technology stop these authentication systems using widely. Web service as the new technology nowadays, which is loosely coupled, independent from platform and programming language and capable of interoperability, give a new idea for the current authentication system.It's a new authentication solution for users when the processing of user's identification is provided by web services and integrated into existed systems. After analyzing the requirements and functions of universal authentication system, a web service-based universal authentication model is presented.WS-security aspect must be involved since the whole authentication system provided by web service. The XML-Encryption and XML-Signature are used in this universal authentication system after analyzing the WS-security specification.As the kernel part of the web service-based universal authentication model, the user authentication component is developed on .NET platform. Calling relative interface of the universal authentication web service, user can visit different system seamlessly with one login.