In the new 2022 Release Wave 2, the WS-Trust authentication method is no longer supported. We’ll explain what WS-Trust is, why Microsoft is phasing out this authentication method, and what the impact is on your business applications.
What is WS-Trust?
“WS-Trust” is an abbreviation for “Web Service Trust Language”; it is a standard that defines how authentication is performed for a web service. A web service allows information to be retrieved from or sent to a computer system. In other words, a web service is a way for computers to communicate with one another.
The WS-Trust standard describes how authentication to a web service is performed. It also includes a specific method for the client to prove its identity before it is allowed to request information from or send information to the server. You could compare it to the requirement to present a valid ‘Covid Safe Pass’ to gain entry somewhere.
Why is WS-Trust being phased out?
Microsoft is removing the WS-Trust authentication mechanism because it is considered an “insecure” method of security according to modern encryption standards. The system relies solely on the security of the connection to the server (HTTPS) to transmit a username and password during the initial login to the system. (After the initial login, however, a security code is used.) In addition, WS-Trust does not support modern forms of ‘multi-factor’ authentication, conditional access rules, or other modern security features.
What is the impact?
For the average user, nothing will change, but there will be an impact on computer programs that use the WS-Trust standard to log in to Microsoft Dynamics 365/Dataverse. Typical examples of computer programs that may be affected include data integrations between Microsoft Dynamics 365/Dataverse and other applications (e.g., ERP, marketing software, etc.), but this may also involve desktop or mobile applications that will need to be updated.
If these computer programs are not updated, they will eventually be unable to connect to Microsoft Dynamics 365 / Dataverse. In practical terms, this means that data integrations, desktop applications, and mobile apps will no longer work. Wherever connections are made to Dynamics 365 / Dataverse using the WS-Trust standard, these must be replaced with a new authentication method (such as OAuth 2.0).
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