Patent ID: 8136143

Claim:
A method for controlling access to network information, the method comprising: storing a master copy of one or more policies in a memory of a master access filter, the one or more policies limiting access to the network information; and distributing a change made at a local access filter to the one or more policies, the change distributed to a plurality of other local access filters in the network, wherein each of the other local access filters: updates a local copy of the one or more policies stored in memory, the local copy being updated to include the change in the one or more policies, responds to a request from a user concerning access to information hosted at a separate server in the network, and executes instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor: consults the updated local copy of the one or more policies based on information in the request received from the user, determines that the user is authorized to access the information based on at least the updated local copy of the one or more policies, and grants access based on the determination that the user is authorized to access the information.