Celebrating 2 Years of the IDPro Body of Knowledge
by Heather Flanagan
This month marks the second anniversary of our first articles published to the IDPro Body of Knowledge (BoK). In the past two years, we’ve published 28 articles on foundational identity topics from Authentication and Authorization to Practical Implications of Public Key Infrastructure for Identity Professionals.
The first two years of the BoK topics were bootstrapped–any foundational identity topic was welcome. This has led to full coverage in some areas like workforce identity topics, but less coverage in others like access governance. Looking forward, the BoK Committee is developing an editorial calendar to focus on specific topics. In particular, we’re soliciting articles on:
- Distinct Authentication Case studies (like “Cloud Service Authenticates Via Delegation – SAML” )
- IAM Security guidance regarding tokens and credentials
- Access Policy Lifecycles
- Developing an IAM security threat model
The list goes on and is updated on our publication status page.
I am incredibly proud of and grateful to a community that is willing to not just write about what they know best, but also take time to review material and offer the feedback that makes the IDPro BoK an incredible collection of information. Our industry is constantly evolving and maturing, and we have already refreshed 18 of our foundational articles to ensure the material is current.
But wait, there’s more! As the BoK evolves, so too does the program committee behind it all. We have recently updated the program charter and need new membership driven leadership to help guide our strategic direction. This is an opportunity to lead and contribute to the professional knowledge base needed to build best of breed identity solutions.
Get in touch on slack or at editor@idpro.org to volunteer. I look forward to hearing from you!

Heather Flanagan
Principal and IDPro BoK Editor
Spherical Cow Consulting
Heather Flanagan, Principal at Spherical Cow Consulting, comes from a position that the Internet is led by people, powered by words, and inspired by technology. She has been involved in leadership roles with some of the most technical, volunteer-driven organizations on the Internet, including IDPro as Principal Editor, the IETF, the IAB, and the IRTF as RFC Series Editor, ICANN as Technical Writer, and REFEDS as Coordinator, just to name a few. If there is work going on to develop new Internet standards, or discussions around the future of digital identity, she is interested in engaging in that work.

Register now for the @idsalliance and #IDPro joint webinar, “Helping Organizations Succeed in an Identity-Centric Security World” – Feb. 23 at 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET http://bit.ly/3HwTYmq
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The #IDPro webinar covering Issue 10 of the Body of Knowledge (#BoK), featuring an overview of the three new articles and six refreshed articles, is starting now. Join the webinar: http://bit.ly/3HbxY0c