A small company is developing a new Internet-facing web application. The security requirements are:
Users of the web application must be uniquely identified and authenticated.
Users of the web application will not be added to the company's directory services.
Passwords must not be stored in the code.
Which of the following meets these requirements?
Correct Answer: A
Explanation
Users create accounts by selecting an OpenID identity provider, and then use those accounts to sign onto any website which accepts OpenID authentication.
OpenID is an open standard and decentralized protocol by the non-profit OpenID Foundation that allows users to be authenticated by certain co-operating sites (known as Relying Parties or RP) using a third party service.
This eliminates the need for webmasters to provide their own ad hoc systems and allowing users to consolidate their digital identities. In other words, users can log into multiple unrelated websites without having to register with their information over and over again.
Several large organizations either issue or accept OpenIDs on their websites according to the OpenID Foundation: AOL, Blogger, Flickr, France Telecom, Google, Hyves, LiveJournal, Microsoft (provider name Microsoft account), Mixi, Myspace, Novell, Orange, Sears, Sun, Telecom Italia, Universal Music Group, VeriSign, WordPress, and Yahoo!. Other providers include BBC, IBM, PayPal, and Steam.