Unified management policy for multiple format electronic communications

• US 20080037583A1
• Filed: 03/20/2007
• Published: 02/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Postini, Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Green, Joseph J., McChesney, Roderick J., Woods, Donald R., Mai, Ninh C., Lund, Peter K., Petry, Scott M., Dawes, Adam S.
• Application Number:
  US11/688,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20080037583A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/467
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for applying unified management policies to monitor, store, search and otherwise manage electronic communications, no matter what format those electronic communications take. Such unified management policy or policies are based on an integrated true identity of a user, typically a person. In one embodiment, a policy implementation module for managing electronic communications transmitted across a communications network in multiple communication formats is provided. The module comprises a message filtering process configured to uniformly filter electronic communications transmitted in the multiple communication formats and that are determined to be associated with a true identity of user employing the multiple communication formats. The filtering is done in accordance with unified management policies, and the policy implementation module further comprises a message disposition process configured to uniformly dispose of the filtered electronic communications in accordance with the unified management policies.

Claims

1. A policy implementation module for managing electronic communications transmitted across a communications network in multiple communication formats, the module comprising:

a message filtering process configured to filter electronic communications transmitted in the multiple communication formats and that are determined to be associated with a true identity of a user employing the multiple communication formats, the filtering done in accordance with unified management policies applied to the multiple communication formats; and

a message disposition process configured to dispose of the filtered electronic communications in accordance with the unified management policies.

2. A module according to claim 1, wherein the communication formats comprise e-mail format, instant message format, Voice-over-Internet Protocol format, and formats for web-based information retrieval and distribution.

3. A module according to claim 1, wherein the user is a sender of the filtered electronic communications.

4. A module according to claim 1, wherein the user is an intended recipient of the filtered electronic communications.

5. A module according to claim 1, wherein the policy implementation module is accessible by an administrator for setting or adjusting the unified management policies.

6. A module according to claim 1, wherein the policy implementation module is accessible by the user via a website for setting or adjusting the unified management policies.

7. A module according to claim 1, wherein the unified management policies are based on user accounts associated with the policy implementation module.

8. A module according to claim 1, wherein the message disposition process is further configured to store the filtered electronic communications in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

9. A module according to claim 1, wherein the unified management policies comprise unified content-based management policies.

10. A module according to claim 9, wherein the unified content-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

control of system access or applications;

archiving of communications;

quarantining communications;

black holing communications;

blocking delivery of communications;

notifying the user of a disposition taken on a communication;

surveillance of communications; and

encryption of outgoing communications.

11. A module according to claim 1, wherein the unified management policies comprise unified threat-based management policies.

12. A module according to claim 11, wherein the unified threat-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

protection against destructive applications;

protection against objectionable content; and

protection against unwanted communications.

13. A module according to claim 1, wherein the electronic communications are communications selected from the group consisting of:

electronic mail messages;

electronic mail attachments;

instant messages;

website cookies;

RSS feeds;

RSS distributions;

post to web log;

file transfers;

presence information;

Video-over-IP communications;

items uploaded to websites; and

Voice-over-IP communications.

14. A method of managing electronic communications transmitted across a communications network in multiple communication formats, the method comprising:

intercepting multiple electronic communications transmitted across the network in corresponding ones of the multiple communication formats;

determining certain ones of the intercepted electronic communications that are transmitted in the multiple communication formats to be associated with a true identity of user employing the multiple communication formats;

filtering the certain ones of the electronic communications in accordance with unified management policies; and

disposing of the certain ones of the filtered electronic communications in accordance with the unified management policies.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the intercepting comprises intercepting the multiple electronic communications with an intermediate service comprises routing engines corresponding to the communication formats of the intercepted electronic communications.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein the communication formats comprise e-mail format, instant message format, Voice-over-Internet Protocol format, and formats for web-based information retrieval and distribution.

17. A method according to claim 14, wherein the user is a sender of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

18. A method according to claim 14, wherein the user is an intended recipient of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

19. A method according to claim 14, further comprising setting or adjusting the management policies using an administrative console associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by an administrator.

20. A method according to claim 14, further comprising setting or adjusting the management policies using a webpage associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by the user.

21. A method according to claim 14, wherein the filtering and disposing further comprise filtering and disposing of the certain ones of the electronic communications in accordance with settings for the management policies governed by user accounts stored in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

22. A method according to claim 14, wherein the disposing further comprises storing the certain ones of the electronic communications in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

23. A method according to 22, further comprising searching the stored certain ones of the electronic communications of the user based on their communication format.

24. A method according to 22, further comprising searching the stored certain ones of the electronic communications of the user based on an electronic identifier associating the user with a particular one of the multiple communication formats.

25. A method according to 24, wherein the electronic identifier is selected from the group consisting of:

a screen name;

an email address;

an IP address;

a device ID number;

a telephone number;

a username; and

a handle.

26. A method according to claim 14, wherein the management policies comprise unified content-based management policies.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the unified content-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

control of system access or applications;

archiving of communications;

quarantining communications;

black holing communications;

blocking delivery of communications;

notifying the user of a disposition taken on a communication;

surveillance of communications; and

encryption of outgoing communications.

28. A method according to claim 14, wherein the management policies comprise unified threat-based management policies.

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein the unified threat-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

protection against destructive applications;

protection against objectionable content; and

protection against unwanted communications.

30. A method according to claim 14, wherein the electronic communications are communications selected from the group consisting of:

electronic mail messages;

electronic mail attachments;

instant messages;

website cookies;

RSS feeds;

RSS distributions;

post to web log;

file transfers;

presence information;

Video-over-IP communications;

items uploaded to websites; and

Voice-over-IP communications.

31. A system for uniformly managing electronic communications transmitted across a communications network in multiple communication formats, the system comprising:

an intermediate service configured to intercept multiple electronic communications transmitted across the network in corresponding ones of the multiple communication formats;

a policy implementation module configured to receive certain ones of the intercepted communications that are associated with a true identity of a user employing the multiple communication formats; and

wherein the policy implementation module is further configured to apply unified management policies to the certain ones of the intercepted communications associated with the user.

32. A system according to claim 31, wherein the intermediate service comprises routing engines corresponding to communication formats of the intercepted communications.

33. A system according to claim 32, wherein the communication formats comprise e-mail format, instant message format, Voice-over-Internet Protocol format, and formats for web-based information retrieval and distribution.

34. A system according to claim 31, wherein the user is a sender of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

35. A system according to claim 31, wherein the user is an intended recipient of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

36. A system according to claim 31, further comprising an administrative console associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by an administrator for setting or adjusting the management policies.

37. A system according to claim 31, further comprising a webpage associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by the user for setting or adjusting the management policies.

38. A system according to claim 31, further comprising a database associated with the policy implementation module and having user accounts stored therein comprising settings for the management policies.

39. A system according to claim 31, wherein the policy implementation module is further configured to store the certain ones of the intercepted communications in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

40. A system according to 39, wherein the database is configured for searching the stored certain ones of the intercepted communications of the user based on their communication format.

41. A system according to 39, wherein the database is configured for searching the stored certain ones of the electronic communications of the user based on an electronic identifier associating the user with a particular one of the multiple communication formats.

42. A system according to 41, wherein the electronic identifier is selected from the group consisting of:

a screen name;

an email address;

an IP address;

a device ID number;

a telephone number;

a username; and

a handle.

43. A system according to claim 31, wherein the management policies comprise unified content-based management policies.

44. A system according to claim 43, wherein the unified content-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

control of system access or applications;

archiving of communications;

quarantining communications;

black holing communications;

blocking delivery of communications;

notifying the user of a disposition taken on a communication;

surveillance of communications; and

encryption of outgoing communications.

45. A system according to claim 31, wherein the management policies comprise unified threat-based management policies.

46. A system according to claim 45, wherein the unified threat-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

protection against destructive applications;

protection against objectionable content; and

protection against unwanted communications.

47. A system according to claim 31, wherein the electronic communications are communications selected from the group consisting of:

electronic mail messages;

electronic mail attachments;

instant messages;

website cookies;

RSS feeds;

RSS distributions;

post to web log;

file transfers;

presence information;

Video-over-IP communications;

items uploaded to websites; and

Voice-over-IP communications.

48. A method of managing electronic communications transmitted across a communications network in multiple communication formats, the method comprising:

intercepting multiple electronic communications transmitted across the network in corresponding ones of the multiple communication formats;

receiving certain ones of the intercepted communications in a policy implementation module, wherein the certain ones are associated with a true identity of a user employing the multiple communication formats; and

applying unified management policies to the certain ones of the intercepted communications associated with the user using the multiple communication formats.

49. A method according to claim 48, wherein the intercepting comprises intercepting the multiple electronic communications with an intermediate service comprises routing engines corresponding to the communication formats of the intercepted electronic communications.

50. A method according to claim 48, wherein the communication formats comprise e-mail format, instant message format, Voice-over-Internet Protocol format, and formats for web-based information retrieval and distribution.

51. A method according to claim 48, wherein the user is a sender of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

52. A method according to claim 48, wherein the user is an intended recipient of the certain ones of the intercepted communications.

53. A method according to claim 48, further comprising setting or adjusting the management policies using an administrative console associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by an administrator.

54. A method according to claim 48, further comprising setting or adjusting the management policies using a webpage associated with the policy implementation module and accessible by the user.

55. A method according to claim 48, wherein the filtering and disposing further comprise filtering and disposing of the certain ones of the electronic communications in accordance with settings for the management policies governed by user accounts stored in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

56. A method according to claim 48, wherein applying management policies further comprises storing the certain ones of the intercepted communications in a database associated with the policy implementation module.

57. A method according to 56, further comprising searching the stored certain ones of the intercepted communications of the user based on their communication format.

58. A method according to 56, further comprising searching the stored certain ones of the intercepted communications of the user based on an electronic identifier associating the user with a particular one of the multiple communication formats.

59. A method according to 58, wherein the electronic identifier is selected from the group consisting of:

a screen name;

an email address;

an IP address;

a device ID number;

a telephone number;

a username; and

a handle.

60. A method according to claim 48, wherein the management policies comprise unified content-based management policies.

61. A method according to claim 60, wherein the unified content-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

control of system access or applications;

archiving of communications;

quarantining communications;

black holing communications;

blocking delivery of communications;

notifying the user of a disposition taken on a communication;

surveillance of communications; and

encryption of outgoing communications.

62. A method according to claim 48, wherein the management policies comprise unified threat-based management policies.

63. A method according to claim 62, wherein the unified threat-based management policies are selected from the group consisting of:

protection against destructive applications;

protection against objectionable content; and

protection against unwanted communications.

64. A method according to claim 48, wherein the electronic communications are communications selected from the group consisting of:

electronic mail messages;

electronic mail attachments;

instant messages;

website cookies;

RSS feeds;

RSS distributions;

post to web log;

file transfers;

presence information;

Video-over-IP communications;

items uploaded to websites; and

Voice-over-IP communications.