Securely inspecting electronic messages
First Claim
1. In a network environment that includes a computer system capable of transferring messages between other computer systems in the network environment, a method for securely activating electronic message inspection, the method comprising the following:
- an act of a receiving a control message;
an act of passing the received control message through one or more receiving path components that are positioned in the receiving path of the received control message;
an act of passing the received control message to a security component subsequent to the received control message being passed through the one or more receiving path components;
an act of the security component authenticating a sender and contents of the received control message;
an act of passing the received control message to an inspection control component in the receiving path subsequent to authenticating the received control message; and
an act of the inspection control component activating message inspection in accordance with instructions contained in the received control message;
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for securely inspecting electronic messages. A computer system receives a control message that is passed through one or more receiving path components, positioned in a message receiving path, to a security component. The security component authenticates the received control message and passes the received control message to an inspection control component. The inspection control component activates message inspection in accordance with instructions contained in the received control message. When message inspection is activated, the computer system passes accessed messages to corresponding inspection components positioned in message paths (either receiving or sending) of the accessed message. The inspection component generates an inspection report (e.g., including a portion of contents of the accessed message) in accordance with instructions contained in a previously authenticated control message.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. In a network environment that includes a computer system capable of transferring messages between other computer systems in the network environment, a method for securely activating electronic message inspection, the method comprising the following:
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an act of a receiving a control message;
an act of passing the received control message through one or more receiving path components that are positioned in the receiving path of the received control message;
an act of passing the received control message to a security component subsequent to the received control message being passed through the one or more receiving path components;
an act of the security component authenticating a sender and contents of the received control message;
an act of passing the received control message to an inspection control component in the receiving path subsequent to authenticating the received control message; and
an act of the inspection control component activating message inspection in accordance with instructions contained in the received control message;
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a network environment that includes a computer system capable of transferring messages between other computer systems in the network environment, a method for securely inspecting an electronic message, the method comprising the following:
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an act of accessing a message;
an act of passing the accessed message to an inspection component positioned in a message path of the accessed message;
an act of the inspection component generating an inspection report for the accessed message, the inspection report being generated in accordance with instructions contained in a previously authenticated control message; and
an act of passing the accessed message through one or more message path components that are positioned in the message path of the accessed message subsequent to generating the inspection report. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a computer system capable of transferring messages between other computer systems in the network environment, the computer program product for implementing a method for securely activating electronic message inspection, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the following:
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receive a control message;
pass the received control message through one or more receiving path components that are positioned in the receiving path of the received control message;
pass the received control message to a security component subsequent to the received control message being passed through the one or more receiving path components;
authenticate a sender and contents of the received control message;
pass the received control message to an inspection control component in the receiving path subsequent to authenticating the received control message; and
activate message inspection in accordance with instructions contained in the received control message. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer program product for use in a network environment that includes a computer system capable of transferring messages between other computer systems in the network environment, the computer program product for implementing a method for securely inspecting an electronic message, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the following:
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access a message;
pass the accessed message to an inspection component positioned in a message path of the accessed message;
generate an inspection report for the accessed message, the inspection report being generated in accordance with instructions contained in a previously authenticated control message; and
pass the accessed message through one or more message path components that are positioned in the message path of the accessed message subsequent to generating the inspection report. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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Specification