[Unity-idm-discuss] 2.5.0 release

[Krzysztof B. <kb...@un...>]

Dear Subscribers,


I'm happy to announce that 2.5.0 is available. The biggest changes are 
around credentials supported by Unity.

When installing this release as an update a complex DB migration will be 
performed and some configuration changes are necessary. Please make sure 
to make a backup and read update instructions in the documentation. The 
upgrade may be more difficult then usual but the amount of improvements 
should make it worth the work.

Before enumerating the most important changes let me start from a big 
thank you to D Baum for the German translation which was included in 
this release./
/

The highlights are:

  * A new *SMS credential* is now available. It can be used to login to
    Unity by entering a code which was sent to a registered and
    confirmed mobile telephone. The credential is integrated with all
    Unity features: can be set up in registration forms, controlled on
    HomeUI, used as first and second factor, etc.
  * A new attribute type is now available: *verifiable mobile number*.
    It is  fully integrated with all standard Unity features. What is
    more SMS credential can be bootstrapped using one of its values (if
    present).
  * *SMS code verification* is a new possibility when configuring
    *password reset*.
  * Password credential received a new configuration setting: *password
    quality factor*. It can (and should!) take over the existing minimal
    password length, minimal character classes and deny popular
    sequences settings. The old ones are still supported and can be used
    together with the new quality factor (although typically this should
    not be necessary). The quality checking of a password is taking into
    account many factors together. With this new setting Unity can
    accept a complex but shorter password or a longer one which is using
    only lowercase letters. Note that you can easily test the meaning of
    the password settings directly from the password credential setup UI.
  * *Password edit dialog* presented to users was redone. It now offers
    a good UX, with instant feedback on password quality, fulfillment of
    credential policies and additional suggestions how to improve the
    passphrase.
  * End-user oriented *credentials tab* in HomeUI, as well as all other
    places where credentials are collected (e.g. the outdated credential
    dialog), were greatly simplified, cleaned and should be much easier
    to use.
  * As mentioned above Unity contains now a *German translation*
  * Up to now Unity triggered sending of *email confirmation messages*
    automatically when a not confirmed email was added. Now it can be
    controlled:
      o For attributes created via registration forms there is a new
        setting allowing admin to control when and if such attribute
        should be confirmed: at request submission, acceptance, never or
        perhaps attribute should be assumed to be confirmed. This new
        option also allows for similar control of mobile phone verification.
      o Admin user can now change confirmation status of attribute
        without triggering the confirmation message being sent. If this
        is desired the confirmation sending should be triggered manually.
  * Users can now *resend* their *confirmation link* from HomeUI.
  * *Message template *is now*bound to a channel* (sms or email). This
    change simplifies configuration in other places (no channel setting
    in registration forms), allows for creating templates specialized to
    medium being used. As a side effect different channels can now be
    used for various messages. For instance admin can receive SMS with
    information on submitted registration request, while user is
    notified with email about accepted or denied request.

Other, smaller changes:

  * It is now possible to brand not only Unity web interfaces but also
    error pages which are generated by Unity.
  * Email identities are compared in a fully case insensitive way
  * Older versions of MariaDB are now supported
  * Password history checking was fixed and can be configured to be
    fully disabled.


As always for more details see: http://www.unity-idm.eu/downloads/

Best regards,
Krzysztof