Patent ID: 7904504
Filing Date: 2011-03-08
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for controlling cross-organizational access by end users associated with a plurality of organizations to one or more distributed object services and/or resources available via a resource server across an information technology communications network, the apparatus comprising: an authorization module associated with each of said organizations , said authorization module being adapted to issue enrollments to one or more end users associated with said organization and electronically transmit said enrollments to the respective end users; a servicing module for defining credentials required for access to each of said services and/or resources via said resource server by end users associated with each of said organizations; and a clearance module storing one or more mappings of enrollments to credentials, wherein at least one of the authorization module, the resource server and the clearance module is arranged to be accessible via an object invocation protocol; wherein each of the end users includes a transmitter for transmitting to the resource server a request for access to at least one of said services and/or resources together with data relating to the respective enrollment of the end user; in response to receipt of said request, said resource server is adapted to transmit said data relating to said enrollment to said clearance module; said clearance module is adapted to map said enrollment to one or more respective credentials and return data representative of said credential(s) to said resource server; said resource server is adapted to comply with said request in response to a positive comparison of said data representative of said credential(s) to said request and to deny said request in response to a negative comparison of said data representative of said credential(s) to said request; and at least one of said authorization module, said servicing module, and said clearance module is/are applications or endpoints dynamically interactable with other applications or endpoints across the information technology communications network.