Patent ID: 8438654

Claim:
A method for associating a virtual machine instance with an access control right in a cloud-based computing environment, the method comprising: receiving, by a management server from a virtual machine instance executing in a cloud-based computing environment provided by a third-party cloud infrastructure service, a request to perform an action or to be granted access; using, by the management server, an identifier to determine that the received request was sent by, or on behalf of, the virtual machine instance; identifying, by the management server, an access control right associated with the virtual machine instance making the request, to determine whether or not to perform the action on behalf of, or grant access to, the requesting virtual machine instance; determining, by the management server, a scope associated with the virtual machine instance based on the access control right; and transmitting, by the management server to the third-party cloud infrastructure service, authorization to perform the action or grant the access using the determined scope.