Method and system for verifiably recording voice communications

• US 7,861,088 B1
• Filed: 12/10/2002
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Laboratories Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Brothers, Laurence Raphael
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, NIRAV B
• Application Number:
  US10/315,470
• Time in Patent Office: 2,940 Days
• Field of Search: 713168-171, 713/178, 713/155, 713/181, 713/189, 713/193, 713/194, 380/255, 380/275, 380/270, 726 2- 4, 726/21, 379/88.02, 379/85, 379/88.01, 379/68, 379/142.05, 379/142.06, 379/67.1, 379/6, 379/77, 379/84, 379/183, 704/273, 704/231, 704/246, 455/563, 455/416, 455/410, 455/411, 455/415, 455/412.1, 370/260, 370/5.52, 370/5.8, 370493-495, 340/5.52, 340/5.8, 348/14.01, 709/204
• US Class Current: 713/178
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

A system and method can verifiably record a voice communication between participants of the voice communication by connecting a first participant to a verifying service provider, connecting between the verifying service and at least one additional participant, recording the voice communication between the first participant and the at least one additional participant to provide a recorded voice communication and secure time-stamping the recorded voice communication to provide a verifiable recorded voice communication. Switch data, such as telephone numbers for the participants and date and time information for the voice communication, can be appended to the recorded voice communication. The participants may input identification data, such as digital signatures, that can be associated with the recorded voice communication and the recorded voice communication can be digitally signed using the digital signatures input by the participants.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method of recording a verifiable voice communication, comprising:

connecting to a communication already in progress between a first participant and at least one additional participant by a verifying service provider;

receiving authentication information from the first participant, wherein the received authentication information is of a type that is based on a subscription status of the first participant and includes first participant personal identification data chosen from a listing of identification data including at least one of biometrics data, passwords and auxiliary device data;

authenticating the first participant based on the received authentication information;

recording the voice communication between the first participant and the at least one additional participant to provide a recorded voice communication when the first participant is successfully authenticated;

associating the identification data with the recorded voice communication;

retrieving call number information associated with the communication from a switch through which the communication is routed;

associating the call number information with the recorded voice communication;

secure time-stamping by the processor the recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider to provide a verifiable recorded voice communication, wherein the secure time-stamping is tamper-proof;

affixing by a public key infrastructure a digital signature to the recorded voice communication based on a unique key, the digital signature being provided by the first participant;

archiving the secure time-stamped recorded voice communication;

receiving a request for a copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider;

providing the requested copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication;

receiving a submission of the provided copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication, superficially as provided, at the verifying service provider; and

verifying by the processor at the verifying service provider that the submission of the provided copy matches the verifiable archived recorded voice communication based on the time-stamping and the unique key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting the first participant to the verifying service provider comprises the first participant contacting the verifying service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first participant contacting the verifying service provider comprises the first participant conference calling the verifying service provider.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein recording comprises:

obtaining data for the voice communication from the switch through which the voice communication is routed; and

appending the data to the recorded voice communication.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein obtaining data comprises obtaining one or more of telephone numbers for the first participant and the at least one additional participant and date and time information for the voice communication.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein recording comprises digitally signing the recorded voice communication using the digital signatures input by the first participant and the at least one additional participant.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising:

storing the verifiable recorded voice communication; and

downloading the recorded voice communication to at least one of the first participant and the at least one additional participant upon a respective request by the first participant and the at least one additional participant.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein downloading and receiving a copy of the recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider comprises transmitting data via an internet web server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the auxiliary device data comprises receiving data transmitted from a smartcard.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting between the verifying service and at least one additional participant comprises authenticating the at least one additional participant to the verifying service provider.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein recording comprises digitally signing the recorded voice communication with a digital signature of the at least one additional participant.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the auxiliary device data comprises receiving data transmitted from a smartcard.

13. The method of claim 1, comprising:

storing the verifiable recorded voice communication; and

downloading the recorded voice communication to at least one of the first participant and the at least one additional participant upon a respective request by the first participant and the at least one additional participant.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising authenticating the respective request as a request from one of the first participant and the at least one additional participant prior to downloading the recorded voice communication.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a copy of the recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider comprises receiving data via an internet web server.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal identification data is a voiceprint.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving authentication information from the first participant further comprises:

receiving credit and billing information from the first participant when the first participant is a non-subscriber.

16. A computer-implemented system for recording a verifiable voice communication, comprising:

a processor;

connections between participants of the voice communication;

a communications connector for contacting and adding connections between participants of the voice communication and a verifying service provider once the connections between participants are established;

an authenticator of received authentication information to authenticate at least one of the participants based on the received authentication information, wherein the received authentication information is of a type that is based on a subscription status of at least one of the participants and includes first participant personal identification data chosen from a listing of identification data including at least one of biometrics data, passwords and auxiliary device data;

a recorder of the verifying service provider recording the voice communication between the participants and providing a recorded voice communication when the received authentication information is successfully authenticated;

a storage device for containing the recorded voice communication in association with the identification data and with call number information associated with the voice communication and retrieved from a switch through which the voice communication is routed;

a time-stamping module to secure time-stamp by the processor the recorded voice communication to provide a verifiable recorded voice communication, wherein the secure-time stamping is tamper-proof;

a public key infrastructure module to digitally sign the recorded voice communication based on a unique key and on a digital signature provided by one of the participants of the voice communication;

an archiving module to archive the secure time-stamped recorded voice communication; and

a web server for receiving a request for a copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication, providing the requested copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication and receiving a submission of the provided copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication, superficially as provided, the time-stamping module verifying by the processor at the verifying service provider that the submission of the provided copy matches the verifiable archived recorded voice communication based on the time-stamping and the unique key.

17. The system of claim 16, comprising:

a database of stored voice communications; and

a connection between the database of stored communications and the web server to provide Internet access to the database.

18. A processor-implemented method of recording a verifiable voice communication, comprising:

connecting a sole participant to a verifying service provider via a voice communication network switch;

receiving authentication information from the sole participant, wherein the received authentication information is of a type that is based on a subscription status of the sole participant and includes sole participant personal identification data chosen from a listing of identification data including at least one of biometrics data, passwords and auxiliary device data;

authenticating the sole participant based on the received authentication information;

recording the voice communication of the sole participant to provide a recorded voice communication when the sole participant is successfully authenticated;

associating the identification data with the recorded voice communication;

obtaining call number data for the voice communication from the voice communication network switch through which the voice communication is routed;

appending the call number data to the recorded voice communication;

secure time-stamping by the processor the recorded voice communication to provide a verifiable recorded voice communication, wherein the secure time-stamping is tamper-proof;

affixing by a public key infrastructure a digital signature to the recorded voice communication based on a unique key, the digital signature being provided by the sole participant;

archiving the secure time-stamped recorded voice communication;

receiving a request for a copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider;

providing the copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication;

receiving a submission of the provided copy of the verifiable archived recorded voice communication, superficially as provided, at the verifying service provider; and

verifying by the processor at the verifying service provider that the submission of the provided copy matches the archived verifiable recorded voice communication based on the time-stamping and the unique key.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein obtaining data comprises obtaining a date and time information for the voice communication.

20. The method of claim 18, comprising:

storing the verifiable recorded voice communication; and

downloading the recorded voice communication to the participant upon a request by the participant.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein downloading and receiving a copy of the recorded voice communication at the verifying service provider comprises transmitting data via an internet web server.