1. A method, comprising the steps of: receiving a data request for data in a database from a user; determining if the user is an internal user or a portal user; consulting, if the user is the internal user, a first security setting associated with the data to determine if the requested data is public or private, and if the user is the portal user, consulting a second security setting separate from the first security setting to determine if the requested data is public or private; providing, if the requested data is public, access information to the user; performing, if the requested data is private, additional processing to determine if the user has access to the requested data.