Remote authentication and authorization in a distributed data processing system

The system and method of this invention authorizes a process running at a client data processing system to have access to a service at a server data processing system. The data processing systems are connected by a communication link in a distributed processing environment. A set of credentials for the process are created at the server in response to a message from the client requesting a service. The server returns a credentials id identifying the created set of credentials to the client process. The client uses this returned id in subsequent requests and is authorized access as controlled by the set of credentials identified by the returned id in the subsequent request. The server can deny access to the service by the process if the id returned in a subsequent request is determined by the server not to identify the set of credentials. The server denies the access if the server requires an authentication of the process.