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Baseline Expectations

Under the guidance of the InCommon Assurance Advisory Committee, the Federation has adopted a set of Baseline Expectations for Trust in Federation. The intent is to improve interoperability among InCommon Participants, and ensure that the Federation has a common level of trust, by establishing expectations that all participants agree to meet.

The core Baseline Expectations document establishes three short lists of expectations expressed at a high level, one for each of three types of Federation actor: an Identity Provider, a Service Provider, and a Federation Operator.

In addition, the Assurance Advisory Committee developed a plan for implementation and for maintaining the baseline expectations. Like the core document, this plan was publicized and vetted by the community, before being finalized and implemented.

Baseline Expectations of Identity Providers

1. The IdP is operated with organizational-level authority
2. The IdP is trusted enough to be used to access the organization’s own systems
3. Generally-accepted security practices are applied to the IdP
4. Federation metadata is accurate, complete, and includes site technical, admin, and security contacts, MDUI information, and privacy policy URL

Baseline Expectations of Service Providers

1. Controls are in place to reasonably secure information and maintain user privacy
2. Information received from IdPs is not shared with third parties without permission and is stored only when necessary for SP’s purpose
3. Generally-accepted security practices are applied to the SP
4. Federation metadata is accurate, complete, and includes site technical, admin, and security contacts, MDUI information, and privacy policy URL
5. Unless governed by an applicable contract, attributes required to obtain service are appropriate and made known publicly

Baseline Expectations of Federation Operators

1. Focus on trustworthiness of their Federation as a primary objective and be transparent about such efforts
2. Generally-accepted security practices are applied to the Federation’s operational systems
3. Good practices are followed to ensure accuracy and authenticity of metadata to enable secure and trustworthy federated transactions
4. Frameworks that improve trustworthy use of Federation, such as entity categories, are implemented and adoption by Members is promoted
5. Work with relevant Federation Operators to promote realization of baseline expectations