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Identity Management, Authentication Shine At RSA

Identity management and authentication may not be the sexiest topics in security -- not during times when malicious worms and viruses are nearly constant threats -- but the former two grabbed the spotlight at the RSA Conference Tuesday.

Sun Microsystems, for instance, took the unusual step of offering up an enterprise-wide identity manager for Microsoft Windows environments. Sun, a fierce rival of Microsoft, has often been at odds with the Redmond, Wash. developer over issues ranging from Java to competing business productivity suites.

Sun Identity Manager for Windows, based on technology Sun acquired in its November 2003, purchase of Waveset Technologies, lets organizations centralize the administration and synchronization of user identities across an enterprise's application environments, said Sun.

The new software, which went by Lighthouse when it was sold by Waveset, offers identity provisioning, and password and directory management capabilities for Microsoft products. It integrates with a host of Microsoft identity-enabled software, including Active Directory, Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM), Microsoft Identity Integration Server (MIIS), Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, SQL Server, and Exchange.

Sun's Java Enterprise System, which includes the Java System Identity Server, will integrate Sun Identity Manager for Microsoft in future versions, according to Sun executives at RSA.

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