Patent ID: 8479302

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of controlling access to a resource, the method comprising: receiving at a computer having a processor, from a requesting user, a request to access the resource, the request having a requesting identifier which identifies the requesting user among a set of organization users; locating, by the processor, a security classification associated with the requesting identifier of the request in response to receiving the request from the requesting user; and performing, by the processor, an access control operation which: provides, to the requesting user, access to the resource when the security classification satisfies a security class requirement; and denies, to the requesting user, access to the resource when the security classification does not satisfy the security class requirement, the security class requirement being derived from access information defined by prior accesses to the resource by other organization users of the set of organization users; wherein the security classification associated with the requesting identifier is based upon an organization chart, the organization chart including a set of hierarchal levels and a set of organization identifiers, each organization identifier of the set of organization identifiers being associated with an organization user of the set of organization users, each organization identifier being associated with a hierarchal level of the set of hierarchal levels; wherein the requesting identifier includes a value of a requesting hierarchal level; and wherein locating the security classification includes: matching the requesting identifier to an organization identifier of the set of organization identifiers; and setting the value of the requesting hierarchal level equal to a value of the hierarchal level with which the matched organization identifier is associated.