Summary

Interoperability for security is a challenging subject, and dealing with security on one single platform is already complex. Making two different application platforms interoperate on the security is more complicated. Thus adopting open standards for security interoperability would be a good approach. Web services security certainly is a turning point for Java EE .NET security interoperability. With the availability of Web SSO MEX specification, security interoperability would be viable for users to keep the best of both identity federation infrastructures.

There are many reference materials and documentation about Java EE and .NET security. Nevertheless, the availability of references for the security interoperability is limited probably because the interoperability standards and the supporting technologies are evolving. The good news is that free interoperability software kits (such as WSE and JWSDP) are available for public download.

In this chapter, Secure Object Handler and secure tracer strategies introduce essential best practices to managing interoperability. These two strategies can be implemented in both Java and .NET platforms.