accessible only after the client has properly authenticated with the middle tier server the second step is therefore to take the mapped id and if properly authorized use it to access the necessary credentials the original client request is finally modified to incorporate the transformed credentials for access to the enterprise resource the files mapping client ids to resource ids and containing credentials must be strictly controlled to preserve system security an administrator with specific authority will maintain these server files in the preferred embodiment once authorized the client may be given limited authority to maintain his or her mapping or credential files in other cases the clients will be prevented from accessing any of the server mapping files fig1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the present invention a client 102 executing a commercial browser 104 makes a request 105 for certain data the request passes through the internet or simple network 106 and is presented to the web server software 122 executing in middle tier server 120 the middle tier server 120 detects a request for resource access and first authenticates the user using user supplied credentials or client certificate the middle tier server authenticates the user to determine whether or not the user is authorized to access the id map credential transform data in the preferred embodiment the.