SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A CLOUD-BASED ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION VAULT

• US 20130290710A1
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Published: 10/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Assets LLC
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Josifovski, Vanja, Broder, Andrei
• Granted Patent: US 8,788,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for securely, conveniently and effectively storing information in a secure data repository or database, and securely delivering such information to a respective user. The secure repository and database, referred to as a Vault, is a secure storage utility used for storing and safekeeping valuable personal information and documents associated with a user. The Vault can store and provide access to personal documents for a user, such as but not limited to, wills, irreplaceable pictures or video, financial documents/bills, contracts, account numbers and credit card numbers. The Vault can be provided as a service within a smart, cloud-based system, which intelligently gathers, stores and initiates actions for a variety of user documents.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

communicating over a network from a user to an entity, a request comprising identification information associated with the user and provided by a web service;

receiving, at a computing device, a response message from the entity addressed to the user in accordance with the identifying information, the response message indicating a desire to establish a trusted relationship between the entity and the web service;

confirming, via the computing device, the trusted relationship between the entity and the web service based on the identifying information;

establishing, via the computing device, a linkage between the user and a user account within a cloud-based repository associated with the web service; and

communicating, over the network, a communication protocol to the entity, said communication protocol comprising instructions for communications between the entity and the repository.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the computing device, a message from the entity; and

determining, via the computing device, whether the message was sent according to the communication protocol.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting the message to the repository if the message was sent in accordance with the communication protocol; and

storing the message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

parsing the message to identify message information; and

organizing the message within the user'"'"'s account based upon the identified information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol comprises the entity appending metadata to messages directed towards the user in order to identify the user'"'"'s account within the repository as the destination.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol comprises the entity addressing messages for the user in accordance with metadata modified identifying information associated with the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the metadata that modifies the identifying information is a web service designated handle specific to the user, wherein the handle indicates that the messages received from the entity are to be directed to the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting the message in accordance with the identifying information associated with the user if the message is not sent via the communication protocol.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

encrypting the stored message, said encryption enables only the user to access and decrypt the message, wherein said access and decryption of the message is private to the user.

10. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

notifying, over the network, the user of the stored message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user account within a cloud-based repository is allocated according to a pricing model, the pricing model enabling storage and encryption capabilities for the user account.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information is an email address associated with the user provided by the web service, said identifying information is affiliated with the user'"'"'s account within the cloud-based repository.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said confirming the linkage between the user and the user account further comprises:

authorizing the user with the web service based upon a token provided by the web service, the token comprising key cryptography used to authorize the user access to the user'"'"'s account within the cloud-based repository.

14. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a message from an entity, the message comprising metadata designated by established communication protocol between the entity and a web service, the metadata indicating a linkage between a user and a user profile within a cloud-based repository;

analyzing, via the computing device, the metadata in order to identify said linkage;

parsing, via the computing device, the message to identify message information; and

based on said analysis, communicating the message to said repository, said communication facilitates storing the message in the repository, said storage comprising organizing the message based on the identified message information.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:

communicating over a network from a user to an entity, a request comprising identification information associated with the user and provided by a web service;

receiving a response message from the entity addressed to the user in accordance with the identifying information, the response message indicating a desire to establish a trusted relationship between the entity and the web service;

confirming the trusted relationship between the entity and the web service based on the identifying information;

establishing a linkage between the user and a user account within a cloud-based repository associated with the web service; and

communicating a communication protocol to the entity, said communication protocol comprising instructions for communications between the entity and the repository.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a message from the entity; and

determining whether the message was sent according to the communication protocol.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting the message to the repository if the message was sent in accordance with the communication protocol; and

storing the message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

parsing the message to identify message information; and

organizing the message within the user'"'"'s account based upon the identified information.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting the message in accordance with the identifying information associated with the user if the message is not sent via the communication protocol.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the communication protocol comprises the entity appending metadata to messages directed towards the user in order to identify the user'"'"'s account within the repository as the destination.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the communication protocol comprises the entity addressing messages for the user in accordance with metadata modified identifying information associated with the user.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the metadata that modifies the identifying information is a web service designated handle specific to the user, wherein the handle indicates that the messages received from the entity are to be directed to the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising:

encrypting the stored message, said encryption enables only the user to access and decrypt the message, wherein said access and decryption of the message is private to the user; and

notifying, over the network, the user of the stored message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

24. A system comprising:

at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to execute and memory to store instructions to;

communicating over a network from a user to an entity, a request comprising identification information associated with the user and provided by a web service;

receiving a response message from the entity addressed to the user in accordance with the identifying information, the response message indicating a desire to establish a trusted relationship between the entity and the web service;

confirming the trusted relationship between the entity and the web service based on the identifying information;

establishing a linkage between the user and a user account within a cloud-based repository associated with the web service; and

communicating a communication protocol to the entity, said communication protocol comprising instructions for communications between the entity and the repository.

25. The system of claim 24, the at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to further execute and memory to further store instructions to:

transmitting the message to the repository if the message was sent in accordance with the communication protocol; and

storing the message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.

26. The system of claim 25, the at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to further execute and memory to further store instructions to:

parsing the message to identify message information; and

organizing the message within the user'"'"'s account based upon the identified information.

27. The system of claim 25, the at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to further execute and memory to further store instructions to:

transmitting the message in accordance with the identifying information associated with the user if the message is not sent via the communication protocol.

28. The system of claim 25, the at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to further execute and memory to further store instructions to:

encrypting the stored message, said encryption enables only the user to access and decrypt the message, wherein said access and decryption message are private to the user; and

notifying, over the network, the user of the stored message in the user'"'"'s account within the repository.