Hi Sam,

Thanks for your response.  Let me add that this is really not a big
issue with me for now.  I see some very interesting use cases that
relate to liability concerns around certain attributes, and I consider
this conversation useful just to the point of knowing whether we are
able to accomplish the task of having attribute providers later, if and
when demand warrants.

Just on one point:

>>     Another source of complexity surrounds how an IDP links
>> an assertion to a subject. What confidence is the RP
>> asserting that the additional assertion describes the same
>> principal as the access-accept message.
>
>     Eliot> On this point - the IdP either is or is not authoritative for
>     Eliot> knowing at the very least where the information is going to
>     Eliot> come from.  
>
> I agree with this sentence. I don't understand how it fits into the
>  quoted paragraph above.

I may have misunderstood what you originally wrote.

Perhaps what you are saying is that if there is absolutely no
requirement that the IdP trust the attribute provider at all, that it
simply passes bits, then there is a risk that the information returned
might not be related to the principal.  I would suggest that it is
incumbent on the attribute provider to at least make an assurance that
it won't happen, because you're right- the RP cannot be assured
otherwise because it may not have sufficient information or even
authorization to reference the principal to the RP.

One other challenge here would be to consider whether it is permissible
that the unique index or name of the principal in the context of the
attribute provider could leak to the RP.  If that name is covered by a
signature, it cannot easily be removed.

Eliot


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