Trusted database authentication through an untrusted intermediary

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• a data bus coupled to the processor;
• and
• a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code operable to authenticate a user to a data source and comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for:
• receiving a request to provide information on behalf of a user;
• requesting the submission of user authentication credentials in a desired format;
• receiving the requested user authentication credentials, the user authentication credentials generated in the desired format by a security token service;
• validating the received user authentication credentials with the security token service, the validation performed by a back-end service;
• and
• providing the requested information, the providing being based on successfully validating the received user authentication credentials;
• and wherein
• the receiving a request to provide information is to an intermediary;
• the receiving the requested user authentication credentials is from the intermediary;
• and,
• the providing the requested information is to the intermediary;
• and wherein
• the intermediary comprises a mashup, the mashup combining content in various formats and from multiple sources for presentation as a Web page.

A non-transitory computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

• receiving a request to provide information on behalf of a user;
• requesting the submission of user authentication credentials in a desired format;
• receiving the requested user authentication credentials, the user authentication credentials generated in the desired format by a security token service;
• validating the received user authentication credentials with the security token service, the validation performed by a back-end service;
• and
• providing the requested information, the providing being based on successfully validating the received user authentication credentials;
• and wherein
• the receiving a request to provide information is to an intermediary;
• the receiving the requested user authentication credentials is from the intermediary;
• and,
• the providing the requested information is to the intermediary;
• and wherein
• the intermediary comprises a mashup, the mashup combining content in various formats and from multiple sources for presentation as a Web page.