Speaker
Description
Authentication is a process by which a role, product, site, object, or event is confirmed as original, genuine, real, or trustworthy. Institutions are slowly but surely moving away from Internet Protocol (IP) address authentication methods to more reliable methods. Just like any other institution, Nelson Mandela University also wanted to do so and investigated means for providing reliable authentication methods for our resources. We are registered with the South African Identity Federation (SAFIRE) and have Shibboleth as our web-based Single Sign-On infrastructure which is based on Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), a standard for the exchange of authentication data.
Nelson Mandela University has been using IP through Web Access Management (WAM) as a form of identity management that controls access to our resources, by providing authentication management, and single sign-on convenience to our users for more than 20 years. However, with the Fourth Industrial Revolutions (4IR) technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud-based applications, IP communication has become less reliable, especially with reimagining the 21st century institutions. The Electronic Resources Management (ERM) Librarians, together with the South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) Principal Librarian have started the process of moving to Shibboleth authentication by removing WAM URLs on all our resource titles which are more than 400000.
To get the process started, the ERM Librarians drafted emails to our publishers who are service providers to get them to register our SAML identity with them. Our library so far has access to 183 electronic resources. Some of these resources are SAML compliant while others are not. To date, 110 e-resources are SAML compliant, 11 e-resources are non-complaint while 63 are in the process to be registered. This process was undertaken so that our library users can experience seamless access to our e-resources, on as well as off-campus. In our ERM office we use a separate desktop, which is connected to a stand-alone modem to test the remote access. We have found that with on-campus access, there are no issues, however with off-campus access it is not clear why Shibboleth, which is SAML based, is not giving our users the single sign on experience, alas we are experiencing more clicks than what we experienced when using WAM. This presentation is based on our findings and the way forward.
Travel and/or accommodation
I need assistance with travel and accommodation. I am currently staying in Eastern Cape, I need the means in reaching Cape Town.
