Patent ID: 7844826

Claim:
A method comprising: accessing, by a managerial entity via a client computing device, a user configuration interface generated by a web-based service; communicating, by the client computing device, a managerial identity to an authentication server for verification; receiving a relationship ticket from the authentication server after the managerial identity has been successfully verified, wherein the relationship ticket received from the authentication server is encrypted so that the relationship ticket cannot be decrypted by the client computing device, wherein the relationship ticket includes the managerial identity and identifies an associate entity that is to have limited access to the web-based service; generating, by the managerial entity via the client computing device, a request to establish a selected permission level for the associate entity which will limit access by the associate entity to the web-based service; sending, by the client computing device, the request and the relationship ticket to the web-based service to: decrypt the relationship ticket; authenticate the managerial identity, wherein the web-based service authenticates the managerial identity with the authentication server using contents of the relationship ticket; and establish the selected permission level for the associate entity; and receiving, by the client computing device, a success code from the web-based service if the selected permission level is established for the associate entity, wherein the method does not require the use of secure communications protocols including SSL (Security Socket Layer), wherein the client computing device, the web-based service and the authentication server communicate using an unsecure or untrusted communication link.