Secured electronic mail system and method
First Claim
1. A secure communication system, comprising:
- a first communication station;
a secure communication signal generated at a first communication station;
a second communication station coupled to said first communication station, said second communication station being effective to receive said secure communication signal;
said second communication station being operable to verify a content of said secure communication signal and generate a verified secure communication signal; and
a third communication station coupled to said second communication station, said third communication station being effective to receive said verified secure communication signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A secure mail transmission system provides virus protection, document tracking, tamper proofing, authentication through digital signatures in addition to secure encryption means and time date verification for e-mail messages. The system encrypts a sent message at a user station and provides digital authentication and confidential encryption schemes prior to delivery of the secure mail message to the secure mail system over a communication network. The secure mail system unpacks the secure transmission, verifies the contents, provides a time date stamp and virus checking before reencrypting an retransmitting the original message. The transmission can be logged and stored for later verification. The recipient of the secure message can be a subscriber or non-subscriber and can use supported e-mail platforms, unsupported e-mail platforms, or unknown e-mail systems and receive the secured message with little or no variation from their typical application interface usage. The system provides secure features including the use of public/private key pairs, hashing algorithms and digital signatures to provide privacy and authentication of the secure mail messages. The private key associated with an individual user need not be stored anywhere. The system permits secure and private electronic communications with virus checking and return receipt notifications available.
499 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A secure communication system, comprising:
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a first communication station;
a secure communication signal generated at a first communication station;
a second communication station coupled to said first communication station, said second communication station being effective to receive said secure communication signal;
said second communication station being operable to verify a content of said secure communication signal and generate a verified secure communication signal; and
a third communication station coupled to said second communication station, said third communication station being effective to receive said verified secure communication signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A secure communication method, comprising:
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securing a message at a first location;
transmitting said secure message to a second location;
receiving said secure message at said second location;
verifying a content of said secure message at said second location; and
transmitting said verified, secure message to a third location.
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37. A secure communication system, comprising:
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a sending device effective to originate an electronic message;
a security producing operator coupled to said sending device and operable to produce a secure message based on said electronic message;
a communication network coupled to said sending device, said communication network operable to transmit said secure message;
a central processor coupled to said communication network and effective to receive said secure message from said communication network;
said central processor being operable to verify a content of said secure message;
said central processor being further operable to transmit said verified secure message to said communication network;
a receiving device coupled to said communication network and operable to receive said verified secure message from said communication network; and
a security removing operator coupled to said receiving device and operable to reproduce said electronic message from said verified secure message.
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38. A secure communication system, comprising:
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a sending device;
a receiving device;
a transmission medium;
a security mechanism coupled to each of said sending and receiving devices; and
said security mechanism being operable to transform at least one of a secure message and an unsecure message to an unsecure message and secure message, respectively, whereby said sending and receiving devices can communicate unsecure messages originating from at least one of said sending and receiving devices as secure messages over said transmission medium, and said security mechanism being further operable to provide authentication of said secure messages.
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39. A method for secure communication, comprising:
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operating on an unsecure transmission signal to produce a secure transmission signal including an authenticating code;
transmitting said secure transmission signal;
receiving said secure transmission signal;
operating on said secure transmission signal to produce said unsecure transmission signal; and
verifying said received unsecure transmission signal using said authenticating code.
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40. A method for secure communication, comprising:
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operating on an unsecure transmission signal at a sender to produce a secure transmission signal;
transmitting said secure transmission signal to a verification operator;
receiving said secure transmission signal at said verification operator;
operating on said secure transmission signal at said verification operator to verify a content of said secure transmission signal;
transmitting said verified secure transmission signal to a receiver;
receiving said verified secure transmission signal at said receiver; and
operating on said verified secure transmission signal at said receiver to produce said unsecure transmission signal.
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41. A secure communication system, comprising:
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an encryption/decryption operator coupled to a plurality of communication devices;
said plurality of communication devices coupled together across a communication medium;
said encryption/decryption operator including an encryption/decryption code generator;
said encryption/decryption operator is effective to transform unsecure communications to secure communications and vice-versa through application of an encryption/decryption code provided by said encryption/decryption code generator; and
at least one of said communication devices is configured with;
an input to receive said secure communications;
said encryption/decryption operator effective to transform said received secure communications to received unsecure communications;
a verification processor operable to verify a content of said received unsecure communications in combination with said encryption/decryption code;
said encryption/decryption operator effective to transform said verified unsecure communication to a verified secure communication; and
an output to transmit said verified secure communication to at least one other communication device.
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42. A method for secure communication, comprising:
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generating a random encryption key;
encrypting a communication signal with said random encryption key;
encrypting said random encryption key;
transmitting a secure communication signal comprising said encrypted communication signal and said encrypted random encryption key;
receiving said secure communication signal;
decrypting said random encryption key;
decrypting said encrypted communication signal with said random encryption key; and
verifying a content of said received, decrypted communication signal.
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Specification