Using Metadata in my App

[Tom Scavo]

On Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 5:47 AM, Peter Schober
<peter.schober at univie.ac.at> wrote:
>
> * Andy Bennett <andyjpb at knodium.com> [2013-03-26 00:14]:
>
>> I have my Federation supplied metadata in an XML file in
>> /var/run/shibboleth/ When I look in this XML file I see data that I'd
>> like to take advantage off. Specifically, the data in <Organization>
>> such as <OrganizationName>.
>
> See above. Note that what institutions and federations have
> traditionally put into these elements varies quite a bit, which is why
> MDUI is always preferrable.

In this case, MDUI does not solve the problem. What is needed is
something like 'orgID' (analogous to 'entityID') but such a quantity
does not exist. Someone will have to invent it ;-)

>> >From reading NativeSPAttributeExtractor it seems possible that I could
>> cook up some kind of extractor for these data and then when the users
>> log in, and only when the users log in, I'd be able to get hold of that
>> data. If it changes in the mean time I'd be out of luck. I'd also only
>> be able to populate my app with information about IdPs from which users
>> have actually ever logged in.
>
> Same for any data/attributes revieved via SAML WebSSO.
>
> Also these are in fact data protection/privacy features so you can't
> just grab all the data (any time you want) about all subjects of an
> institution, even if those subjects have never used your service.
> You can update data on the next access. If you need the data in
> between visits you may cache/store it in your application (Provided
> there's a legal basis for that, cf. 95/46/EC).
>
> If the institutions or their subjects actually want to you have
> wholesale access to all their subjects' information any time you want
> they can open up access to e.g. an LDAP directory service (and make
> use of some of the eduPerson attributes specific to that).

Or use OAuth.

> Or look at this from the perspective of provisioning, where there's
> SPML, SCIM and other standards (or standard developments).

Good advice.

Tom