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WIND is a web authentication system which will verify that a person using a web browser can authenticate using a UNI. A "UNI" is a username in Columbia's Kerberos authentication system.
WIND was developed in order to allow web application developers to confirm a visitor's affiliation with Columbia without ever directly requesting a Columbia password. In order to authenticate, the visitor is redirected to Columbia's central secure web server.
The design of WIND closely follows the Yale Central Authentication System (CAS). Some features have been added to meet local needs, and to allow us to replace legacy web authentication methods. WIND implements a modified version of the new CAS 2.0 protocol, allowing for proxiable credentials for use by portals, as well as some improvements over the earlier WIND version.