Re: Microsoft Identity Integration Server

[Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu]

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 15:35:51 EDT, Michael Schaefer <mbs () mistrealm com>  said:

> Has anyone used this? Are there any known security risks?

(None of this is specific to the product, but all of it is stuff that we as an
industry keep re-botching over and over, so I'll mention it here anyhow...)

Three (ok, two and a half) come to mind:

1) There's an inherent "eggs in one basket" issue with *any* sort of
single-sign-on or single-identifier scheme.  Be sure you understand all the
ramifications (all too many places don't think it ALL through).

2) After Microsoft's original "all your identity are belong to us" Passport,
it's just *too* easy to take a cheap shot at anything called a Microsoft
Identity Integration Server.... However, you *will* want to double-check how
you will interface this with any software at your site that doesn't believe in
The Microsoft Way (compare with the early days of Active Directory, and trying
to get a non-MS box to play nice....).  This will undoubtedly lead to a
home-grown interface, which should have big screaming "AUDIT ME CAREFULLY"
stickers all over it....

3) *all* software has bugs.  The Unix 'passwd' and 'login' programs have had
bugs.  Kerberos had bugs. Yellow Pages had bugs.  This product would be truly
unusual if it DIDN'T have bugs, especially at this point in its evolution.  Be
sure you make plans for when (not if) a not-yet-publicly-known issue
surfaces....

Attachment: _bin
Description: