Control and management of electronic messaging

• US 8,745,146 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2012
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VeriSign, Inc.
• Inventors: Hallam-Baker, Phillip Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US13/350,620
• Publication Number:
  US 20120117173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 726/5
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1079 of unsolicited session attempts, e.g. SPIT

Abstract

A method for controlling a message from a sender. A referee can evaluate a credential associated with a message to determine ifs desirability to the intended recipient, and take an action based upon the results of the determination. A sender that includes a trusted component can send a credential with the message, and the message can be controlled without a referee.

Claims

1. A method for controlling messages, the method comprising:

creating a plurality of digital signatures;

determining a rate at which the plurality of digital signatures are created;

creating a tamper-resistant message indicator for a message, wherein the tamper-resistance message indicator is based on a rate at which the plurality digital signatures were created at a time the tamper-resistant message indicator was created; and

sending the message indicator with the message to a recipient.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator is created using a trusted component.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message indicator indicates the number of messages sent over a given period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the message indicator is signed using a private key at the sender of the message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the message indicator is signed by signing a hash based upon the message indicator using a private key at the sender.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a message authentication code based on the message indicator is sent to a recipient.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a message is permitted to be sent only if the message indicator for messages sent over a given time period is less than a given threshold.

8. A system for controlling messages, including:

a tamper-resistant processor;

a tamper-resistant memory storing message control instructions that are adapted to be executed by the processor to perform a method for associating a credential with a message to be sent to an intended recipient comprising;

creating a plurality of digital signatures;

determining a rate at which the plurality of digital signatures are created;

creating a tamper-resistant message indicator for a message, wherein the tamper-resistance message indicator is based on a rate at which the plurality digital signatures were created at a time the tamper-resistant message indicator was created; and

sending the message indicator with the message to a recipient.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the credential includes a velocity indicator.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said velocity indicator indicates the number of messages sent over a given period of time.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said velocity indicator is signed using a private key at the sender of the message.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein a hash based upon said velocity indicator is signed using a private key stored at the memory.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the credential includes a message authentication code based on the velocity indicator.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein said instructions are further adapted to be executed by the tamper-resistant processor to send the message only if the velocity indicator is less than a given threshold.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the credential includes a digital signature of the sender of the message.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the credential includes a digital certificate.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the message includes an e-mail message.

18. The system of claim 8, wherein the message includes a telephonic message.

19. The system of claim 8, wherein the message includes an instant message.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the message includes a videoconferencing message.

21. The system of claim 8, wherein the message includes a fax message.

22. A method for controlling messages, the method comprising:

creating a tamper-resistant velocity indicator for a message comprising an adjustable time decay parameter associated with a message, wherein the adjustable time decay parameter is based on a rate at which messages are being sent;

determining a rate of change of the tamper-resistant velocity indictor;

providing the tamper-resistant velocity indicator and the rate of change of the tamper-resistant velocity indicator with the message.