System and method for enterprise authentication

A system for authenticating a subject, comprising:

• at least one component capable of performing the following steps:
• implementing a first programmatic interface which is compatible with a modular security framework;
• receiving a request to authenticate the subject via the first programmatic interface;
• consulting a first managed bean to determine one or more authentication modules required in authenticating the subject wherein the one or more authentication modules require at least one authentication condition to be satisfied to authenticate the subject;
• authenticating the subject by providing each authentication module the required authentication condition, wherein a call back handler retrieves the authentication conditions required to authenticate the subject, and wherein a second managed bean provides a control flag to determine whether the authentication condition is a required, requisite, sufficient or an optional part of the multiple authentication module sequence;
• and
• providing for association of a signed principal with the subject upon successful authentication of the subject to verify authenticity of a principal associated with the subject, wherein the signed principal indicates that the signed principal has not been altered since the principal was signed.

A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to:

• implement a first programmatic interface which is compatible with a modular security framework;
• receive a request to authenticate the subject via the first programmatic interface;
• consult a first managed bean to determine one or more authentication modules required in authenticating the subject wherein the one or more authentication modules require at least one authentication condition to be satisfied to authenticate the subject;
• authenticate the subject by providing each authentication module the required authentication condition, wherein a call back handler retrieves the authentication conditions required to authenticate the subject, and wherein a second managed bean provides a control flag to determine whether the authentication condition is a required, requisite, sufficient or an optional part of the multiple authentication module sequence;
• and
• provide for association of a signed principal with the subject upon successful authentication of the subject to verify authenticity of a principal associated with the subject, wherein the signed principal indicates that the signed principal has not been altered since the principal was signed.