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Assurance for Identity Providers

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Assurance Glossary of Terms

Defined Term	Brief summary description
Address of Record	A means of contacting the Subject.
Approved Algorithm	Any implementation of an algorithm or technique specified in a FIPS standard or NIST recommendation, or any algorithm or technique that conforms to an alternative means identified by InCommon as approved for specified IAPs.
Assertion	Structured data objects containing Identity information and other relevant data. Sometimes called Identity Assertions.
Attributes	Elements of an Identity.
Attribute Service	Provides Subject Attributes in response to queries from SPs.
Authentication Secret	Used generically for passwords, passphrases, PINs, symmetric keys and other forms of secrets used for authentication
Credential	A unique identifier and authentication material.
Credential Store	Contains Authentication Secrets for all Subjects
Identity	Information that is true about a Subject.
Identity Attributes	Information elements relevant to a Subject.
Identity Management System	A set of functions serving the Identity and access management needs of an enterprise.
Identity Provider	The IdMS system component that issues Assertions.
IdMS database	A database of IdMS Subjects.
IdMS Operations	The technical environment supporting the IdMS.
IdP Operator	The organization operating an IdP is an IdP Operator.
Protected Channel	A communication mechanism that provides message integrity and confidentiality protection.
Registration	The process of creating a record of a Subject’s Identity information.
Registration Authority	A trusted entity entitled to perform Registrations.
Relying Parties	A synonym for Service Provider.
Service Provider	Uses an Identity Assertion as part of managing access to its services.
Subject	A person who is (or will be) registered with the IdP Operator
Token	A physical device (or specialized software on a device such as a mobile phone) used in authentication.
User Agent	Typically a web browser, used by the Subject to authenticate to the IdP and convey the assertion to the SP.
Verifier	Validates the correctness of offered authentication material.