Network authentication tokens

Network users may be authenticated by different means and from a variety of locations. Once authenticated, the user´s access should be consistent with the strength of the authentication. The author examines one possible method for determining the authentication strength and conveying this information within a distributed network. The approach discussed uses a token composed of a unique user ID and an authentication level. The token is sent along with the request for establishing a remote session. Once the token is received, the remote location determines user access based solely on the authentication token