US Patent 9509684 System and method for resource access with identity impersonation

A gateway device comprising a processor and a memory, the processor is configured to receive a resource request message from an endpoint associated with a user, the resource request message including an external token, a resource operation, and a resource identifier. The processor is also configured to retrieve, from the memory, an authentication identifier associated with one of the endpoint and the user based on the external token and authorize the resource operation with a directory service using the authentication identifier. The processor is further configured to receive an authorization token from the directory service and initiate the resource operation with an internal resource using the authorization token.