GSA gives nod to Computer Associates tool

A Web security tool from Computer Associates International Inc. has been approved by the General Services Administration's E-Authentication Interoperability Lab, officials at the Islandia, N.Y., company said.

CA demonstrated SiteMinder 6.0's interoperability with Security Assertion Markup Language, so the product can be used by federal agencies participating in the E-Authentication initiative, CA officials said.

The E-Authentication initiative mandates an infrastructure to support common, unified processes and systems for governmentwide use. An integral part of the system is a federated identity architecture, which enables simpler access to information through the re-use of trusted credentials and established identities.

The Department of Agriculture has used SiteMinder for more than two years with more than 120 integrated applications.

"We are currently leveraging SiteMinder and IdentityMinder to streamline online interactions for customers, partners and employees across the many agencies" of the Agriculture Department, said Owen Unangst, E-Authentication project leader at the agency.