System and method of indicating the strength of encryption

• US 8,347,089 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2010
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Adams, Neil P., Brown, Michael S., Little, Herbert A., Brown, Michael K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lipman, Jacob
• Application Number:
  US12/697,955
• Publication Number:
  US 20100146270A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: 713/166
• US Class Current: 713/166
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and system are provided for secure messaging on mobile computing devices. The method and system provide for an indication of a security trust level associated with a security method used with an electronic message.

Claims

1. A method of indicating on an electronic device a security-related trust category associated with an electronic message, the method comprising:

accessing security-related data associated with the electronic message, the security-related data indicating a cipher algorithm used with respect to encryption or signing of the electronic message; and

accessing a security-related policy store on the electronic device, the security-related policy store containing associations between a plurality of security-related trust categories and cipher algorithms;

determining, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message, the determining including comparing the security-related data of the electronic message with the associations in the policy store; and

displaying a security-related indicator corresponding to the determined security-related trust category on a user interface of the electronic device,

the security-related indicator indicative of trust including reliability strength of the cipher algorithm.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a wireless mobile communication device, a cellular telephone, or a personal data assistant.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the security-related trust categories is determined by an owner of the device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the security-related categories is determined by a user of the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator includes text.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related data includes a digest or a digital signature.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein the electronic device and another electronic device are configured to use different security-related trust categories for the same security type.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message is encrypted.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message comprises an electronic mail message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein a messaging client handles the electronic mail message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the security-related indicator comprises a graphical indicator.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing a message in response to selection of the security-related indicator, the message to include details of at least one of a secure message protocol and the cipher algorithm used.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform operations for indicating on an electronic device a security-related trust category associated with an electronic message, the operations comprising:

accessing security-related data associated with the electronic message, the security-related data indicating a cipher algorithm used with respect to encryption or signing of the electronic message; and

accessing a security-related policy store on the electronic device, the security-related policy store containing associations between a plurality of security-related trust categories and cipher algorithms;

determining, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message, the determining including comparing the security-related data of the electronic message with the associations in the policy store; and

displaying a security-related indicator corresponding to the determined security-related trust category on a user interface of the electronic device,

the security-related indicator indicative of trust including reliability strength of the cipher algorithm.

14. A system of indicating on an electronic device a security-related trust category associated with an electronic message, wherein security-related data indicates a cipher algorithm used with respect to encryption or signing of the electronic message, the system comprising:

a security-related policy store configured to store, on the electronic device, associations between a plurality of security-related trust categories and cipher algorithms; and

a comparator module configured to determine, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message by comparing the security-related data of the electronic message with the associations in the policy store; and

a user interface to display a security-related indicator corresponding to the determined security-related trust category,

wherein the security-related indicator is indicative of trust including reliability strength of the cipher algorithm.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the user interface is configured to display a message in response to selection of the security-related indicator, the message to include details of at least one of a secure message protocol and the cipher algorithm used.

16. A system of indicating on an electronic device a security-related trust category associated with an electronic message, comprising:

accessing security-related data associated with the electronic message, the security-related data indicating a cipher algorithm used with respect to encryption or signing of the electronic message; and

means for accessing a security-related policy store on the electronic device, the security-related policy store containing associations between a plurality of security-related trust categories and cipher algorithms;

means for determining, based upon the accessed security-related data, which of the security-related trust categories corresponds to the electronic message, the determining including comparing the security-related data of the electronic message with the associations in the policy store; and

means for displaying a security-related indicator corresponding to the determined security-related trust category on a user interface of the electronic device,

the security-related indicator indicative of trust including reliability strength of the cipher algorithm.