MEEC has entered into an agreement with InCommon. The InCommon Federation is the identity management federation for the U.S. education and research communities. InCommon is operated by Internet2 and it provides the shared management of secure single sign-on access for users to protected and licensed online resources. Participants have common policies and technology, which allows identity providers to control the release of user information and it also allows service providers to manage the authorization for their online resources.
Federated identity management greatly streamlines collaboration because participants agree on policies and processes once, rather than each time they sign a contract with a new partner. InCommon improves security and privacy, as the identity provider releases only the information needed for the service provider to make an access decision. Access often does not require the release of even an individual’s name or other personally identifiable information.
The InCommon Certificate Service offers unlimited server and personal certificates to higher education participants for one low annual fee. MEEC member institutions can email help@incommon.org for more information.