Oracle Plans to Acquire Secure ID Software Provider Oblix

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Oracle Corp. is planning another acquisition, which was due to be announced at 4 p.m. Eastern time Monday, according to sources familiar with the deal.

This time the target is electronic identity management and secure Web access software provider Oblix Inc., which is run by longtime Symantec Corp. CEO and security industry guru Gordon Eubanks.

An Oracle spokesman declined to comment on the deal or what use Oblixs security software could be to Oracle.

But Oracle was a founding member, along with Sun Microsystems Inc., IBM, RSA Security and Oblix, of the Liberty Alliance, a group of computer companies dedicated to developing Web identity management protocols based on open standards including XML, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and Web Services-Security.

The goal of the alliance was to produce “federated security” functions that would give users single-sign-on capability to a number of Web sites at once.

Microsoft Corp.s Passport technology was designed for similar goals, but its proprietary nature has made it anathema to some, especially advocates of open standards on the Web.

Oblixs identity management products are designed to provide not only secure sign-on to Web portals, but also ongoing security control by monitoring a users identity even once he or she has signed on to a site.

In this way it can limit the users access to specific resources and change access rules based on the users changing role within the corporation.

Added to Oracles own security management capabilities, the software could extend secure access to Oracle databases and applications across unsecured connections on the Web and elsewhere.

/zimages/4/28571.gifOracles purchase of Oblix will enable Oracle to cater to heterogeneous shops. Click here to read more.

The acquisition would be Oracles second in two weeks. It bought retail software producer Retek Inc. last week for $656 million.

/zimages/4/28571.gifClick here to read more about Oracle reporting increased third-quarter revenue.

An Oracle press release, posted minutes after an eWEEK.com inquiry to Oracle, says that the Oblix software will provide Single Sign On identity administration and user provisioning that will complement Oracles own Identity Management and Oracles Application Server 10G, including SSO (Single Sign On), identity administration and user provisioning.

Oblix also provides security and regulatory compliance solutions.

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