Patent ID: 6823452
Filing Date: 2004-11-23
Classification: G06Q,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
A computer program product for providing end-to-end user authentication for legacy host application access, said computer program product embodied on a computer-readable medium readable by a computing device in a computing environment and comprising:computer-readable program code means for establishing a secure session from a client machine to a server machine using a digital certificate transmitted from said client machine to said server machine wherein said digital certificate represents said client machine or a user thereof; computer-readable program code means for storing said transmitted digital certificate at said server machine; computer-readable program code means for establishing a session from said server machine to a host system on behalf of said client machine, responsive to establishment of said secure session, using a legacy host communication protocol; computer-readable program code means for automatically sending a log-on message from said client machine to said server machine, responsive to receiving, at said client machine, a request from said host system for log-on information of said user, wherein said log-on message uses placeholder syntax in place of a user identifier and a password of said user; computer-readable program code means for passing said stored digital certificate from said server machine to a host access security system, responsive to receiving, at said server machine, said log-on message from said client machine; computer-readable program code means, operable in said host access security system, for using said passed digital certificate to locate access credentials for said user; computer-readable program code means for returning, from said host access credentials and system to said server machine, a user identifier associated with said located access credentials and either a stored password or a generated password substitute representing said located credentials; computer-readable program code means for modifying, by said server machine, said received log-on message by replacing said placeholder syntax with said returned user identifier and password or password substitute; and computer-readable program code means for forwarding said modified log-on message from said server to said host system as a response to said request for log-on information, such that said user identifier and password or password substitute from said forwarded log-on message can be used by said host system to transparently log said user on to a secure legacy host application executing at said host system, without requiring change to said host system.