Method and system for E-mail management of E-mail having embedded classification metadata

• US 8,171,540 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2008
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TITUS Inc.
• Original Assignee: TITUS Inc.
• Inventors: Pulfer, Charles E., Warrington, Connor
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): ABEDIN, SHANTO
• Application Number:
  US12/135,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20090030884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 726/14, 726/22, 726/26, 726/27, 713/152, 713/165, 713/166, 713/167, 455/410, 709/206
• US Class Current: 726/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/353 into predefined classes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4406 Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity mechanisms actuated y cards, PIN or the like in apparatus for dispensing G07F7/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/444 to a particular document or image or part thereof

Abstract

A method and system method for e-mail management of e-mails having embedded classification metadata. A query from an end user to access an e-mail account by an e-mail client is received. It is then determined whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client, such as a web e-mail client. Access rules for defining classification access restrictions for the e-mail client to access e-mail in the e-mail account are retrieved when the e-mail client is determined to be insecure. The e-mail query can then be modified before sending to an e-mail server storing the email account. The query is modified based on the retrieved access rules to exclude retrieval of e-mails based upon the e-mail classification metadata.

Claims

1. A method executed by a processor for management of e-mail messages having embedded classification metadata, the method comprising:

receiving a query from an end user to access an e-mail account by an e-mail client;

determining whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client;

retrieving access rules for defining classification access restrictions for the e-mail client to access e-mail messages in the e-mail account, when the e-mail client is determined to be insecure; and

modifying the received query, before sending to an e-mail server storing the email account, the query being modified based on the retrieved access rules to exclude retrieval of e-mail messages based upon the embedded e-mail classification metadata;

sending the query to the e-mail server;

receiving e-mail messages from the e-mail server based upon the query by sensitivity associated with the classification access restrictions of the e-mail messages determined by inspecting classification metadata embedded in each e-mail message; and

sending the received e-mail messages to the e-mail client.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein sending the retrieved e-mail messages to the e-mail client further comprises sending only message header information for the excluded e-mail messages.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the e-mail client is a web mail client using HTML web access.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the e-mail client is an Outlook Web Access client.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the query is an structured query language (SQL) query.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the e-mail client is entitled to view an e-mail message with attachments; and

modifying the query to exclude e-mail messages with attachments.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client further comprises determining an encryption level associated with the access client.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client further comprises identifying an originating location of the e-mail client.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the access rules define classification metadata to be excluded in the query.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the classification restrictions are defined as PERSONAL, UNCLASSIFIED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the query is modified to exclude the viewing of any web based e-mail messages in the user'"'"'s e-mail account Inbox that have not been classified.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-defined access rules are provide in a javascript file.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the access rules define classification metadata to be included in the query.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising initially receiving an user identifier and password associated with the e-mail account.

15. A system for management of e-mail messages having embedded classification metadata, the system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor for executing;

receiving a query from an end user to access an e-mail account by an e-mail client;

determining whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client;

retrieving access rules for defining classification access restrictions for the e-mail client to access e-mail in the e-mail account, when the e-mail client is determined to be insecure;

modifying the received query, before sending to an e-mail server storing the email account, the query being modified based on the retrieved access rules to exclude retrieval of e-mail messages based upon the embedded e-mail classification metadata;

sending the query to the e-mail server;

receiving e-mail messages from the e-mail server based upon the query by sensitivity associated with the classification access restrictions of the e-mail messages determined by inspecting classification metadata embedded in each e-mail message; and

sending the received e-mail messages to the e-mail client.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions for providing management of e-mail messages having embedded classification metadata, the instructions which when executed by a processor performing:

receiving a query from an end user to access an e-mail account by an e-mail client;

determining whether the query has come from an insecure e-mail client;

retrieving access rules for defining classification access restrictions for the e-mail client to access e-mail messages in the e-mail account, when the e-mail client is determined to be insecure;

modifying the received query, before sending to an e-mail server storing the email account, the query being modified based on the retrieved access rules to exclude retrieval of e-mail messages based upon the embedded e-mail classification metadata;

sending the query to the e-mail server;

receiving e-mail messages from the e-mail server based upon the query by sensitivity associated with the classification access restriction of the e-mail messages determined by inspecting classification metadata embedded in each e-mail message; and

sending the received e-mail messages to the e-mail client.