A system of the present invention uses an identity provider to provide the authentication services for multiple service providers. An identity provider communicates with one or more service providers. A user that wishes to gain access to a service provider is authenticated through the use of the identity provider. A user desiring to access a service provider is first authenticated by the identity provider. The identity provider determines if the user meets the desired class level and provides various information related to the authentication. When the user attempts to access a second service provider that is associated with the same identity provider, the second service provider accesses the identity provider and determines that the user was recently authenticated. The identity provider then transmits the relevant information regarding the authentication process to the second service provider, which can then allow or deny the user access to the second service provider.

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