Patent ID: 8127345

Claim:
A method for controlling access, by at least one authentication server, to protected computer resources provided via an Internet Protocol network, the method comprising: receiving, at the at least one authentication server from at least one access server, identity data associated with at least one client computer device, the identity data forwarded to the at least one access server from the at least one client computer device with a request from the at least one client computer device for the protected computer resources; authenticating, by the at least one authentication server, the identity data received from the at least one access server, the identity data being stored in the at least one authentication server; authorizing, by the at least one authentication server, the at least one client computer device to receive at least a portion of the protected computer resources requested by the at least one client computer device, based on data associated with the requested protected computer resources stored in at least one database associated with the at least one authentication server; and permitting access, by the at least one authentication server, to the at least the portion of the protected computer resources upon successfully authenticating the identity data and upon successfully authorizing the at least one client computer device.