Rendering Subject Identification on Protected Messages Lacking Such Identification

• US 20070072564A1
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Adams, Neil
• Granted Patent: US 8,650,652 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/115.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

Rendering subject information for a protected message received and stored at an electronic communications device, wherein the message is initially received by the electronic communications device without subject information. Selected information is extracted from the protected message and stored on the electronic communications device as subject information for the protected message.

Claims

1. A method for rendering subject information for a protected message received and stored at an electronic communications device, wherein the protected message has been protected at an originating sender'"'"'s device and is initially received by the electronic communications device without subject information, the method comprising:

extracting selected information from the protected message; and

storing the selected information on the electronic communications device as subject information for the protected message.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

generating on a display of the electronic communications device a message list including a subject display field for subject information for each of a plurality of messages stored on the electronic communications device including the protected message, wherein if the subject information for the protected message is stored on the electronic communications device when the display is generated, including at least part of the stored subject information in the subject display field for the protected message.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein entry of a shared secret by a user is required to open the message, the method comprising detecting that the protected message has been opened following successful entry of the shared secret and wherein the selected information is extracted from the protected message after the protected message has been opened.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the selected information is extracted from the protected message only the first time that the protected message is opened at the electronic communications device.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the protected message has been encrypted at the originating sender'"'"'s device, the method comprising decrypting the protected message after entry of the shared secret.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the protected message that is received at the electronic communications device has been further encrypted at a location intermediate the originating sender'"'"'s device and the electronic communications device, the method further comprising decrypting the received protected message at the electronic communications device to reverse the encryption applied at the intermediate location.

7. The method of claim 3 including prior to an opening of the protected message:

displaying information about the protected message in a message list on a display of the electronic communications device and providing a prompt to the user to provide the shared secret upon receiving a user input indicating selection of the protected message from the message list for opening.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein electronic communications device is a mobile device enabled to exchange messages over a wireless network, and wherein the generating of the message list is carried out in response to a user input to the electronic communications device and if no subject information is stored on the electronic communications device for the protected message when the message list is generated, then a predetermined phrase indicating that the protected message is protected is displayed in the subject display field for the protected message a predetermined phrase indicating that the protected message is protected.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the protected message received at the electronic communications device has been protected at the originating sender'"'"'s device through encryption, an electronic signature, or through an encryption and electronic signature in compliance with either S/MIME or PGP/MIME.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the protected message is an email message that is received at the electronic communications device without subject information, and includes a message body portion that contains text, and the selected information is at least partially selected from the text contained in the message body portion based on predetermined selection criteria.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein predetermined character combinations in the text are excluded from the selected information.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting the selected information is performed once the protected message is received at the electronic communications device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein extracting the selected information is performed after a user input to the electronic communications device requesting that a message list that includes subject information for a plurality of messages be generated.

20. A computer program product having a computer readable medium storing a instructions for rendering subject information for a protected message received and stored at an electronic communications device, wherein the message is initially received by the electronic communications device without subject information, the instructions including code means for executing the method of claim 1.

14. An electronic communications device enabled to receive electronic messages, the device including:

a display;

a communications subsystem for receiving messages from an external source;

storage for storing messages received through the communications subsystem;

a user input device;

a messaging client for processing messages received by the device through the communications subsystem, the messaging client comprising a subject rendering module for extracting information from protected messages that are received at the device without subject information and storing the extracted information on the storage.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the messaging client is configured for displaying on the display a message list identifying messages that are available to be viewed on the device, the message list including a subject display field for displaying subject information for the identified messages, and wherein the stored extracted information for respective protected messages is used in the subject display field when the protected messages are identified in the message list.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein at least some of the protected messages are sender encrypted and user input of a shared secret is required to decrypt and open the sender encrypted protected messages, wherein the subject rendering module is configured for extracting the selected information from a sender encrypted protected message only after the sender encrypted protected message has been decrypted following user input of the shared secret.

17. The device of claim 16 wherein if no subject information is stored on the electronic communications device for a listed protected message when the message list is generated, the messaging client is configured to display in the subject display field for the listed protected message a predetermined phrase indicating that the listed protected message is protected.

18. The device of claim 16 wherein the messaging client is configured for, prior to an opening of a listed protected message identified in the message list, providing a prompt to the user to provide the shared secret upon receiving a user input through the user input device indicating selection of the listed protected message from the message list for opening.

19. The device of claim 14 wherein protected messages consist of messages that have been encrypted, signed, or signed and encrypted, at an originating sender'"'"'s device.