Announcing a newly published Informational document in the GGF document series: Title: Authority Recognition Author/editor: Paul Madsen GFD #: GFD-I.048 Download link: http://www.ggf.org/ggf_docs_final.htm Abstract: Trust between entities in many Grid transactions is enabled by a separate authority issuing assertions (e.g. X.509 certificates, SAML assertions, Kerberos tickets, etc) regarding the identity and/or other characteristics of the actors involved. The assertions issued by an authority must be recognized as valid and appropriate to a relying partyâs requirements before that party will rely on them. Whether or not an assertion from a particular authority is appropriate will depend on a number of factors, including the commitments the authority makes with respect to the assertion, the liabilities the authority is willing to assume, and the obligations assumed by the relying party if they use the assertion. Existing mechanisms do not facilitate the dissemination of this information from the authority to the relying party to enable an informed recognition decision. This paper explores the concepts and issues involved in an authority making available to potential relying parties this information. Additionally, we propose a representative model for using XML and a publish-and-subscribe model to offer a simpler solution to the authority recognition problem. -- Greg Newby (GGF Editor)