Electronic mail sending and receiving system

• US 20060168071A1
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Net Agent Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Net Agent Company Limited
• Inventors: Sugiura, Takayuki
• Application Number:
  US11/320,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20060168071A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• 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 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload

Abstract

There is provided an electronic mail sending and receiving system capable of encrypting an electronic mail including its header when sending it without installing an encryption system in a sender client and decrypting the electronic including its header mail when received without installing an encryption system in a receiver client. A sender'"'"'s mail server includes an SMTP server for receiving a plaintext electronic mail sent from a sender client, destination check means for checking an electronic mail destination, and electronic mail encrypting and sending means for encrypting the electronic mail by using an SMTP/S protocol if the destination check result shows that the electronic mail delivery destination supports the SMTP/S protocol when sending the mail. A receiver'"'"'s mail server includes an SMTP server for receiving an electronic mail and mail decryption/reception means for decoding the electronic mail received.

Claims

1. It is the system which is able to encrypt an electronic mail including its header when sending it without installing individually an encryption system in the sender'"'"'s terminal and to decrypt the electronic mail including its header when receiving it without installing individually a decryption system in the receiver'"'"'s terminal, composing sender clients, the sender'"'"'s mail server, receiver clients, the receiver'"'"'s mail server, and the networking between the sender clients and the receiver clients, wherein the sender'"'"'s mail server includes:

an SMTP server for receiving a plaintext electronic mail sent from the sender'"'"'s terminal;

destination check means in the electronic mail;

as a result of them, this system call an SMTP/S protocol for encrypting and sending an electronic mail including its header when the destination of the electronic mail supports the SMTP/S protocol, and wherein the receiver'"'"'s mail server includes;

an SMTP server for receiving the electronic mail sent from the sender server and decryption means to decrypt the received electronic mail.

3. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the destination check means of the sender'"'"'s mail server means a filtering server having a function of determining whether the receiver'"'"'s mail server corresponds to the SMTP/S protocol.

4. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 3, wherein the determination of correspondence to the SMTP/S protocol results whether a handshake to an SMTP/S protocol port in the receiver'"'"'s mail server is possible and includes whether the domain name in the receiver'"'"'s mail server is ensured by an authentication center.

5. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic mail encrypting and sending means in the sender'"'"'s mail server sends, as a result of the destination check, a plaintext mail by the use of the SMTP protocol when the receiver'"'"'s mail server dose not support the SMTP/S protocol.

6. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the SMTP server in the receiver'"'"'s mail server stores the electronic mails sent by client in each receiver'"'"'s mail box, when the destination of the electronic mail is in a local area.

7. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the SMTP server in the receiver'"'"'s mail server is able to encrypt the path between the receiver'"'"'s mail server and the receiver'"'"'s mail client by receiving the electronic mails stored in the each mail box in the receiver mail client by the use of POP3/S and IMAP/S protocols.

8. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein when the receiver'"'"'s mail server sends the electronic mail to another mail server, the receiver'"'"'s mail server includes:

destination check means in the electronic mail which determine whether the destination supports the SMTP/S protocol or not and mail encrypting and sending means as a result of the destination check. When the destination supports the SMTP/S protocol, the electronic mails are encrypted and sent by it. When the destination does not support the SMTP/S protocol, the electronic mails are sent in plaintext by the SMTP protocol.

9. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the mail encrypting and sending means in the sender'"'"'s mail server returns to the sender client the electronic mail indicating that the process is not successful including that data, when the electronic mail encryption by the use of the SMTP/S protocol is failed.

10. The electronic mail sending and receiving system according to claim 1, wherein the mail encrypting and sending means in the sender'"'"'s mail server has a function of analyzing the data of the encryption process in the electronic mail header sent by the sender client.

2. It is the system which is able to encrypt an electronic mail including its header when sending it without installing individually an encryption system in the sender'"'"'s terminal composing sender clients and the sender'"'"'s mail server, the system further comprising:

destination check means in the electronic mail;

as a result of them, this system call an SMTP/S protocol for encrypting and sending an electronic mail including its header when the destination of the electronic mail supports the SMTP/S protocol.