April 2020 Update
Internal IAM Project
The Internal IAM project includes a re-engineering of Penn’s core IAM infrastructure, replacing 17-year-old, custom-built identity management systems and processes with a standards-based, modern solution to strengthen Penn’s overall security posture and ability to comply with emerging global regulatory requirements. The new IAM solution will be implemented in phases. Recent progress includes:
- The IAM team received responses from vendors on the product request for proposal (RFP) and we have successfully completed our evaluations of the vendors’ responses.
- The team will proceed with proof-of-concept activities in May in support of product selection. The purpose of the proof-of-concept is to test a subset of our overall solution requirements, focusing on the specific functional areas we consider most critical to Penn. These include:
- Identity Conflict Resolution
- Correlation/Biomatching during Identity Creation
- Account Claiming/Credential Issuance
- DevOps Processes and Utilities
- In addition, the team created use cases based on real campus populations and the transitions and “dual-role” scenarios that routinely occur at Penn (e.g., students who also work as staff, etc.).
- The team also reached out to peer institutions who have recently gone through similar IAM/security modernization efforts to learn about their experiences. To date, we have held consultation calls with Penn State, Harvard, and Northwestern University, and will continue to look for opportunities to learn from and partner with our peers.
Steps to IAM Product Purchase
The IAM team will be working on the following steps toward product purchase:
- Execute proof-of-concept w/ RFP finalists
- Define scope of release 1.0 – technology, policy, process
- Complete business process release 1.0 implementation plans
- Purchase product
PennPath Service Offering Reminder
As a reminder, PennPath is available for use by Schools and Centers that have users who need access to University resources, but neither need nor want all the access privileges and security requirements associated with a PennKey. These users include non-traditional learners, research collaborators, business partners, and other external affiliates. For detailed information about PennPath, visit www.isc.upenn.edu/pennpath. If you have any questions or would like to discuss how your organization can benefit from PennPath, please contact help@isc.upenn.edu.
Questions & Feedback
ISC values your feedback. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact penn-iam@upenn.edu.
We look forward to sharing more progress with you soon!
The Penn IAM Team
