Federated ID Campaign Begins
In collaboration with the U.S. federal government, AFCEA International has launched the Federated Identity Campaign. As the initial step, association members can now use a number of government-issued identification verification credentials to access the AFCEA Secured Member Portal. Future plans include expanding the ability to provide end-to-end services that involve identification authentication through federated credentials. The capabilities will range from event planning to event attendance.
Government credentials that can now be used in the AFCEA portal through a common authentication interface include Common Access Cards, Personal Identification Verification (PIV), PIV-interoperable tokens, U.S. External Certificate Authority (ECA), Transportation Workers Identity Credentials (TWICs) and Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (FiXs) certified credentials.
“This [Federated Identity Campaign] is consistent with AFCEA’s dedication to increasing knowledge through the exploration of issues relevant to its members in information technology, communications and electronics for the defense, homeland security and intelligence communities,” Kent Schneider, AFCEA president and chief executive officer, says. “Our Federated Identity Campaign will provide an example of how industry can collaborate with the federal government at an operational level, leveraging the existing identity ecosystem and enhancing the nation’s overall cybersecurity posture while benefiting from an economy of scale only achievable through the adoption and exercising of a federated identity capability.”
The identity assurance infrastructure that the campaign introduces will reduce costs and increase security significantlyaround the perimeter of the events venues as well as enable appropriate access control of facilities, installations and information systems, Schneider adds. “As certified federations roll out and are able to certify and accredit available federated applications and services, communities of interest across the nation will be able to leverage trusted federated identity credentials for both physical and logical access to resources, data and facilities used for protecting critical infrastructure assets, businesses and the public,” he states.
