Patent ID: 7668830

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a request for a service at a first device from a user at a second device, the request including a resource identifier and identity information corresponding to the second device; authenticating the second device at the first device using a device log-in and password; identifying the user of the second device comprising: accessing a contact list at the first device, comparing, at the first device, the identity information received from the second device and information within the accessed contact list, selecting a user identifier corresponding to the user of the second device as any identity information which matches the contact list information when a match is determined, wherein the user identifier is different than the device log-in and password, and wherein the matched information includes a phone number of the second device; selecting an access group identifier at the first device from the contact list using the user identifier; selecting an access right for the user using the access group identifier; determining if the user has permission to access a data item identified by the resource identifier; when the user has permission to access the data item, determining if the access right allows performance of the service; and providing the service at the first device when the access right allows performance of the service.