System and method of indicating the strength of encryption

• US 20050039004A1
• Filed: 04/26/2004
• Published: 02/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Adams, Neil P., Brown, Michael S., Brown, Michael K., Little, Herbert A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,741 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and system are provided for secure messaging on mobile computing devices. The method and system provide for an indication of a security trust level associated with a security method used with an electronic message.

Claims

1. A method of indicating on an electronic device a security trust level associated with an electronic message, comprising the steps of:

accessing security-related data associated with the electronic message;

accessing security-related trust categories that are stored on the electronic device;

determining, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message;

wherein a security-related indicator is displayed to a user of the electronic device based upon the determined corresponding security-related trust category.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a wireless mobile communication device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a cellular telephone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a personal data assistant.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message is an electronic mail message.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a messaging client handles the electronic mail message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator is an indication of trust relative to encryption applied to the electronic message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator is an indication of trust relative to digital signature used for the electronic message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related trust categories are determined by an owner of the device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related categories are determined by a user of the device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator is a graphical indicator.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of providing a message to the user when the user selects the security-related indicator.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator includes text.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related data indicates which type of security cipher algorithm was used with respect to the electronic message.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related data includes a checksum.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related data includes a digital signature.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related data indicates which type of security was used with respect to the electronic message.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a security-related policy store contains associations between security-related trust categories and security types, wherein the determining of the corresponding security-related trust categories includes using the associations of the security-related policy store to determine which of the security-related trust categories correspond to the electronic message,

wherein the mobile device and another mobile device are configured to use different security-related trust categories for the same security type.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the security types include different cipher algorithms.

20. A data signal that is transmitted using a communication channel, wherein the data signal includes the security-related data of claim 1.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the communication channel is a network, wherein the data signal is packetized data that is transmitted through a carrier wave across the network.

22. Computer-readable medium capable of causing a mobile device to perform the method of claim 1.

23. A security-level indication system for electronic devices, wherein security-related data indicates what type of security has been used for an electromic message, comprising:

a security-related policy store configured to store security-related trust categories;

a comparator module configured to determine which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message by using the security-related data;

wherein a security-related indicator is displayed to a user of the electronic device based upon the determined corresponding security-related trust category.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the security-related policy store contains associations between the security-related trust categories and security types, wherein determination of the corresponding security-related trust categories includes using the associations of the security-related policy store to determine which of the security-related trust categories correspond to the electronic message.

25. The security-level indication system of claim 23, further comprising a user interface configured to display a message in response to selection by the user of the security-related indicator.

26. A system of indicating on an electronic device a security trust level associated with an electronic message, comprising:

means for accessing security-related data associated with the electronic message;

means for accessing security-related trust categories that are stored on the electronic device;

means for determining, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message;

wherein a security-related indicator is displayed to a user of the electronic device based upon the determined corresponding security-related trust category.