METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTHENTICATING SENDERS AND RECIPIENTS IN A CARRIER SYSTEM AND PROVIDING RECEIPT OF SPECIFIED CONTENT BY A RECIPIENT
First Claim
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1. A method for a mail processing system including a processing device to prepare a mail piece for sending to a recipient comprising:
- obtaining by the processing device a plurality of data elements associated with the mail piece, the plurality of data elements including the recipient'"'"'s name, an identification number for the mail piece, and physical attributes of the mail piece;
combining, by the processing device, the plurality of data elements to form a data string;
encrypting the data string using a cryptographic key to form an encrypted ciphertext;
separating, by the processing device, the cryptographic key into a first key portion and a second key portion and the encrypted ciphertext into a first ciphertext portion and a second ciphertext portion;
printing the first ciphertext portion on at least one of the mail piece and a label to be applied to the mail piece;
electronically sending the first key portion to the recipient; and
electronically sending the second key portion, the second ciphertext portion and the identification number for the mail piece to a data center for storage.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for authenticating senders and recipients in a carrier system and providing receipt of specified content by a recipient are provided. A one-time recipient identification code is generated that can be entered into the delivery agent'"'"'s portable terminal. Data is protected against eavesdropping by encryption and by splitting cipher text and an encryption key into two parts that are not accessible to any single party except at the moment of the mail unit delivery.
15 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for a mail processing system including a processing device to prepare a mail piece for sending to a recipient comprising:
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obtaining by the processing device a plurality of data elements associated with the mail piece, the plurality of data elements including the recipient'"'"'s name, an identification number for the mail piece, and physical attributes of the mail piece; combining, by the processing device, the plurality of data elements to form a data string; encrypting the data string using a cryptographic key to form an encrypted ciphertext; separating, by the processing device, the cryptographic key into a first key portion and a second key portion and the encrypted ciphertext into a first ciphertext portion and a second ciphertext portion; printing the first ciphertext portion on at least one of the mail piece and a label to be applied to the mail piece; electronically sending the first key portion to the recipient; and electronically sending the second key portion, the second ciphertext portion and the identification number for the mail piece to a data center for storage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of verifying proper delivery of a mail piece being delivered by a carrier from a sender to a recipient using a portable wireless device, the method comprising:
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receiving by the portable wireless device an identification number for the mail piece and a first portion of an encrypted ciphertext that are provided on the mail piece; electronically sending the received identification number to a data center; electronically receiving from the data center a second portion of an encrypted ciphertext and a first portion of a cryptographic key; combining, by the portable wireless device, the first portion of the encrypted ciphertext and the second portion of the encrypted ciphertext to form a complete encrypted ciphertext; receiving, in the portable wireless device, a second portion of the cryptographic key from the recipient; combining, in the portable wireless device, the first portion of the cryptographic key and the second portion of the cryptographic key to form a complete cryptographic key; decrypting, by the portable wireless device, the complete encrypted ciphertext using the complete cryptographic key to form a plaintext message, the plaintext message including at least a portion of the recipient'"'"'s name, an identification number for the mail piece, and physical attributes of the mail piece; determining, by the portable wireless device, that the plaintext message is in an expected format; providing, by the portable wireless device, the plaintext message for the recipient to view; and receiving, by the portable wireless device, an indication of acceptance of the mail piece by the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification