The Register: Vendors, users team to create secure XML

A group of 45 IT companies and enterprises has formed a group that aims to create a standard way to secure internet-based transactions that use XML (eXtensible Markup Language).

The AuthXML Working Group will develop a specification covering authentication and authorising information in XML which it will then submit to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

The group includes security firms such at Check Point Software; networking vendors, such as Novell; consultancies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and end-users such as the Royal Bank of Scotland. However, the group is more interesting for who it does not include - most noticeably Microsoft, which has formed a group to develop a complementary technology.

Looks like secure XML is going to bifurcate. Microsoft's vs The Rest!!