W3C Launches WebID Incubator Group

W3C is pleased to announce the creation of the WebID Incubator Group, whose mission is to further advance for full standardization the WebID protocol, an authentication protocol that uses the SSL/TLS layer for user identification by tying the client to a profile document on the Web through placing a URI in a certificate. It is a first step to a fully standard-based browser authentication experience, but not limited to browser based authentication: peer to peer server authentication will work just as well. The Incubator Group intends to pursue work that has been evolving since 2008, grow the number of interested parties from the Social Web, security and browser communities, and integrate their feedback. The following W3C Members have sponsored the charter for this group: The Apache Software Foundation, DERI Galway, Garlik, INRIA, Nokia, OpenLink Software, Talis, Telecom Italia SpA, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Read more about the Incubator Activity, an initiative to foster development of emerging Web-related technologies. Incubator Activity work is not on the W3C standards track but in many cases serves as a starting point for a future Working Group.