System and method for updating message trust status

• US 8,385,887 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2009
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited), Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Brown, Michael K., Brown, Michael S., Little, Herbert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zewari, Sayed T
• Application Number:
  US12/370,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20090210718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,474 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411
• US Class Current: 455/411
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/72 Signcrypting, i.e. digital signing and encrypting simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3265 using certificate chains, trees or paths; Hierarchical trust model

Abstract

Systems and methods for processing encoded messages within a wireless communications system are disclosed. A server within the wireless communications system performs signature verification of an encoded message and provides, together with the message, an indication to the mobile device that the message has been verified. In addition, the server provides supplemental information, such as, for example, a hash of the certificate or certificate chain used to verify the message, to the device, to enable the device to perform additional checks on the certificate, such as, for example, validity checks, trust checks, strength checks, or the like.

Claims

1. A method for processing encoded messages comprising:

receiving, at a server, an encoded message sent from an e-mail sender and addressed to a recipient device;

processing said encoded message to verify a signature of the encoded message at said server and processing said encoded message such that the processed message is below a predetermined threshold size;

providing an indication of a result of the processing and the processed message to the recipient device; and

,

providing supplemental security information of the encoded message to the recipient device for use by the recipient device in performing additional checks.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the additional checks comprise at least one of validity checks, trust checks or strength checks.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication verifies that the server has verified the signature of the encoded message and that a size of the encoded message size was above the predetermined threshold size.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the indication verifies that the server has verified the signature of the encoded message.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplemental information comprises a hash of a certificate used to sign the encoded message.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the supplemental information comprises a hash of a certificate chain including the certificate used to sign the encoded message.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the processing comprises applying an encryption algorithm such that the processed message is encrypted.

8. A computer program product comprising program code stored in non-transitory program memory, the program code operative on a server to

receive an encoded message sent from an e-mail sender and addressed to a recipient device;

process said encoded message to verify a signature of the encoded message at said server and process said encoded message such that the processed message is below a predetermined threshold size;

provide an indication of a result of the processing and the processed message to the recipient device; and

,

provide supplemental security information of the encoded message to the recipient device for use by the recipient device in performing additional checks.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the additional checks comprise at least one of validity checks, trust checks or strength checks.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the indication confirms that the server has verified the signature of the encoded message and that a size of the encoded message size was above the predetermined threshold size.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the indication verifies that the server has verified the signature of the encoded message.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the supplemental information comprises a hash of a certificate used to sign the encoded message.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the supplemental information comprises a hash of a certificate chain including the certificate used to sign the encoded message.

14. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the code is further operative to apply an encryption algorithm such that the processed message is encrypted.