Customizable instant messaging private tags

• US 7,945,783 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2008
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, Joel A., Daigle, Brian K., Kent, Larry G. Jr., Daniell, W. Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Parthasarathy; Pramila
• Application Number:
  US12/288,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20090049296A1
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0457 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply dynamic encryption, e.g. stream encryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for stream encryption H04L9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

Systems for customizing the privatizing of instant messages preferably comprise a processing device configured to detect a marking of select portions of an instant message as sensitive data. The instant message is parsed for marked sensitive data. An encryption engine encrypts the sensitive data. A modified unencoder is also preferably included for converting the encrypted sensitive data into a data stream that complies with an XML format. Other systems and methods are also provided.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

offering a first code for decrypting a first section of an instant message as displayed in a chat window to at least one first instant messaging recipient, the first section of the instant message encrypted with a first encryption code;

offering a second code for decrypting a second section of the instant message to at least one second instant messaging recipient, the second section of the instant message encrypted with a second encryption code;

identifying first privately tagged data in a proposed text message and encrypting the first privately tagged data with the first encryption code;

identifying second privately tagged data in the proposed text message and encrypting the second privately tagged data with the second encryption code;

creating a text message from the proposed text message to include nonprivately tagged data, first encrypted first privately tagged data, and second encrypted second privately tagged data,

wherein the offering of the first code to the at least one first instant messaging recipient further comprises;

sending the first code to a certificate authority;

requesting an indication of whether the at least one first instant messaging recipient accepts or rejects an offer of the first code;

detecting the receipt of a response from the at least one first instant messaging recipient; and

storing the response in the certificate authority.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying an owner of the first code of the response received from the at least one first instant messaging recipient.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the offering of the first code to the at least one first instant messaging recipient further comprises, upon receiving an indication of acceptance of the offer of the first code, communicating the first code to the at least one first instant messaging recipient.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the offering of the second code to the at least one second instant messaging recipient further comprises:

sending the second code to a certificate authority;

requesting an indication of whether the at least one second instant messaging recipient accepts or rejects an offer of the second code;

detecting the receipt of a response from the at least one second instant messaging recipient; and

storing the response in the certificate authority.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising notifying an owner of the second code of the response received from the at least one second instant messaging recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the offering of the second code to the at least one second instant messaging recipient further comprises, upon receiving an indication of acceptance of the offer of the second code, communicating the second code to the at least one second instant messaging recipient.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the identifying of the first privately tagged data in the proposed text message and the identifying of the second privately tagged data in the proposed text message is performed by identifying at least one of a “

#”

symbol, a “

-”

symbol, a “

@”

symbol, a “

(”

symbol, a “

)”

symbol, a hexadecimal number, and manually marked data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of the first privately tagged data and the second privately tagged data includes one of a telephone number, a social security number, a bank account number, and manually marked data.

9. A system for customizing privatization of an instant message, comprising:

a processing device configured to detect a first marking of first select portions of an instant message as displayed in a chat window as first sensitive data, the processing device further configured to detect a second marking of second select portions of the instant message as second sensitive data;

a parser for parsing the instant message for first sensitive data, second sensitive data, and non-sensitive data;

a first encryption engine for encrypting the first sensitive data;

a second encryption engine for encrypting the second sensitive data; and

a uuencoder for converting the encrypted first sensitive data, the encrypted second sensitive data, and the non-sensitive data into a data stream complying with an XML format.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a first decryption engine for receiving and decrypting the data stream into the first sensitive data, the first decryption engine configured to determine whether a first key at a certificate authority has been accepted by a first recipient; and

a providing component configured to provide the instant message to the first recipient and decrypt the first sensitive data in response to determining that the first key at the certificate authority has been accepted by the first recipient.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a second decryption engine for receiving and decrypting the data stream into the second sensitive data, the second decryption engine configured to determine whether a second key at a certificate authority has been accepted by a second recipient; and

a providing component configured to provide the instant message to the second recipient and decrypt the second sensitive data in response to determining that the second key at the certificate authority has been accepted by the second recipient.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first and the second encryption engines is configured to encrypt one of the first and the second sensitive data utilizing an encryption method comprising at least one of Blowfish and Hash.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first and the second markings include at least one of a “

#”

symbol, a “

-”

symbol, a “

@”

symbol, a “

(”

symbol, a “

)”

symbol, a hexadecimal number, and manually marked data.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first and the second select portions of the instant message includes one of a telephone number, a social security number, a bank account number, and manually marked data.

15. A system, comprising:

a text parser for parsing a message as displayed in an instant messaging chat window for at least one of first sensitive data, second sensitive data, and non-sensitive data;

a first encrypter for encrypting the first sensitive data;

a second encrypter for encrypting the second sensitive data; and

an uuencoder for converting the encrypted first sensitive data, the encrypted second sensitive data, and the non-sensitive data into an XML compliant format data stream.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the text parser parses the message based on at least one of a “

#”

symbol, a “

-”

symbol, a “

@”

symbol, a “

(”

symbol, a “

)”

symbol, a hexadecimal number, and manually marked data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first sensitive data and the second sensitive data includes one of a telephone number, a social security number, a bank account number, and manually marked data.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein:

a first decryption key for decrypting the first sensitive data is provided to at least one of a first recipient and a certificate authority adapted to communicate with the first recipient; and

a first decrypter for decrypting the encrypted first sensitive data of the data stream into a text message utilizes the first decryption key.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein:

a second decryption key for decrypting the second sensitive data is provided to at least one of a second recipient and a certificate authority adapted to communicate with the second recipient; and

a second decrypter for decrypting the encrypted second sensitive data of the data stream into a text message utilizes the second decryption key.