Office of Learning and Information Technology

Identification, Authentication and Authorization

Welcome. These pages describe the identity management and application service infrastructure being developed and deployed within the University of Wisconsin System.

The University of Wisconsin System 's Identification, Authentication and Authorization (IAA) system provides identity management and authentication services supporting the secure deployment of applications at UW-System institutions. IAA identity and access management services for approved applications include access to data in the IAA registry for user and account management, a centralized authentication service (the Authentication Hub), a centralized authorization service, and UW system-wide identity management.

The University of Wisconsin System started the Identification, Authentication and Authorization (IAA) initiative 1996. Infrastructure and pilot whitepages application development began in 2001. By August, 2004 all UW System campuses had begun providing data 'feeds' to the IAA system. By early 2005, five systemwide applications had adopted IAA as the means for authenticating access by users from throughout the UW System.

All data submitted to the IAA system by UW System campuses and any use of that data within the IAA system is protected and governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed between each institution and the University of Wisconsin System Administration (UWSA). The MOU was created by the IAA Governance Working Group which is sponsored and charged by UW System Administration. The Governance Group established and guarantees compliance with key governance principles for the IAA system:

UWSA may use information obtained from an institution's electronic data submission of education and human resources records for the sole purpose of providing the identity and access management services described in the Memorandum of Understanding.  UWSA has no authority to make any other use or disclosures of such data.

UWSA is responsible for maintaining and protecting the integrity and security of submitted data submitted while such data is maintained in the IAA system.

UWSA shall maintain submitted data submitted in such a way that only software applications (not individual computer users) approved by the IAA Governance Working Group will have the ability to query, access or obtain data from IAA.