Securant, Netegrity Offer Competing Security Standard Proposals

Software Magazine, Dec, 2000 by Paul Desmond

Securant Technologies and Netegrity Inc., already rivals in the market for authentication and authorization tools, are now competing in the standards arena.

Less than a week apart, both companies in November announced efforts to develop an XML-based standard for Web security, intended to provide a standardized way of securing transactions even as they cross multiple Web sites based on different platforms and using different vendors' security tools.

San Francisco-based Securant says it worked for months with partners and customers before announcing its proposal, dubbed AuthXML. Among the organizations Securant says have joined the AuthXML working group to help create the standard are: Access360, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix, Deloitte & Touche, Entrust, McKesson, Novell, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and SAIC.

Netegrity's entry is called the Security Services Markup Language (S2ML). Waltham, Mass.-based Netegrity credited a number of companies with helping to create S2ML, including Bowstreet, Commerce One, Jamcracker, Sun Microsystems, VeriSign, and webMethods.

Each company says its proposal will allow a user's security data to be passed along as a transaction winds its way across various Web sites, providing for single sign-on and obviating the need for a user to be reauthenticated if a transaction crosses multiple vendor sites. In essence, all of a user's security privileges would travel with him or her through the life of the transaction. Each scheme is intended to work with existing security tools, so users don't need to change out existing infrastructure.

Additionally, both Securant and Netegrity plan to submit their respective proposals to relevant standards bodies, including the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and OASIS.

"From a goals and objective standpoint, the difference between these proposals is almost nil," says Pete Lindstrom, senior analyst with the Security Strategies Service at Hurwitz Group, Framingham, Mass. There are, however, technical differences that will have to be hashed out. "They'll need to come to terms at the table of compromise to get this pushed through."