Baseline Expectations 2 Implementation Reaches Important Milestone 

By Albert Wu, InCommon Federation Service Manager

With 2022 behind us, the InCommon Baseline Expectations for Trust in Federation program reached its final milestone in transitioning InCommon to the second iteration of Baseline Expectations (BE2). Since InCommon officially adopted BE2 in December 2021, the Community Trust and Assurance Board (CTAB) and InCommon Federation Operations have been working with the community to bring all participants and services into compliance with BE2 requirements via the InCommon Community Dispute Resolution Process.

BE2 Closing Actions Recommendations

In December 2022, CTAB took the final step in the Dispute Resolution Process, submitting its BE2 Closing Actions recommendations to the InCommon Steering Committee. With Steering feedback and endorsement, InCommon Federation Operations carried out the recommendations in the Closing Actions report, removing 30 non-adhering entities from InCommon metadata on December 12, 2022. 

As of January 2023, more than 98% of InCommon-registered entities (99% of the identity providers and 98% of the service providers) meet BE2 requirements. 

In addition to working with organizations that requested extensions to meet BE2 requirements, CTAB and InCommon Federation Operations continue to refine ongoing measurement and operational practices so that InCommon participants can adopt and adhere to practices that enhance trust and assurance among participants. 

Fun Facts

When InCommon reached 100% adherence with the original Baseline Expectations in 2019, there were 4,910 entities (identity providers and service providers) registered in InCommon. There are more than 6,200 entities today. 

When InCommon began transitioning the community to BE2 in Spring 2021, 58% of services scored an “A” in the transport layer security (TLS) encryption server test. Today, more than 80% do. 

ICYMI

The Time to Meet InCommon Baseline Expectations 2 Requirements is Approaching in December