WEB-BASED SINGLE-SIGN-ON AUTHENTICATION MECHANISM

摘要

A method and apparatus are disclosed for a single sign-on method and system for accessing a plurality of services distributed over a network in which authentication-related functionality is separated from the services, and in which authentication need not be renegotiated for access to a new service fr om the plurality of services during a session. Additional benefits accruing fro m embodiments of the invention include notification of the plurality of servic es when a user has terminated a session, and the use of secure, short-lived authentication tokens to verify a user's identity for subsequent access to t he plurality of services. The steps in a method embodiment comprise receiving a request from a user for authorization to access a service; transmitting a token corresponding to the service to the user; receiving the token corresponding to the service from the user; determining whether the user is authorized to receive the service based on the token; and connecting the use r to the service, if the user is authorized to use the service.