Secure delivery of files to authorized recipients

• US 9,264,408 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2015
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carro, Fernando Incertis
• Primary Examiner(s): Ravetti, Dante
• Application Number:
  US14/718,538
• Publication Number:
  US 20150304285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 705/16, 705/21, 705/59, 705/71
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]

Abstract

A method and system for decoding an encrypted file. A recipient computer: receives, from a sender computer, the encrypted file having a filename that includes an encoded address; parses the received filename; extracts the encoded address from the parsed filename; accesses a voice check ticket at the extracted encoded address; receives voice check text from the voice check ticket; visually displays the received voice check text on a computer display of the recipient computer; prompts the recipient to read aloud the displayed voice check text; receives an audio signal from a reading aloud, by the prompted recipient, of the displayed voice check text; transmits the received audio signal to a server computer; receives, from the server computer, an encryption key after the server computer has verified, from analysis of the audio signal, the recipient'"'"'s voice; and decrypts the received encrypted file using the received encryption key.

Claims

1. A method for decoding an encrypted file, said method comprising:

receiving, by a recipient computer of a recipient from a sender computer of a sender, the encrypted file;

wherein the encrypted file has a filename that includes an encoded address in the filename, wherein the encoded address identifies where a voice check ticket is stored, wherein the voice check ticket comprises voice check text, and wherein a prior name of the encrypted file and the encoded address are merged together within the filename;

parsing, by the recipient computer, the received filename;

extracting, by the recipient computer, the encoded address from the parsed filename;

accessing, by the recipient computer, the voice check ticket at the encoded address extracted from the parsed filename;

receiving, by the recipient computer from the voice check ticket, the voice check text;

displaying, by the recipient computer, the received voice check text visually on a computer display of the recipient computer;

prompting, by the recipient computer, the recipient to read aloud the displayed voice check text;

receiving, by the recipient computer, an audio signal from a reading aloud by the prompted recipient of the displayed voice check text;

receiving, by the recipient computer, an identifier of the recipient;

transmitting, by the recipient computer to a server computer comprising a voice check server, the received audio signal and the received identifier of the recipient;

wherein the voice check server has converted the audio signal to first text, determined that the first text matches the received voice check text, computed a voiceprint of the audio signal, and determined that the computed voiceprint matches a voiceprint stored in a voiceprint database of the voice check server and associated with the transmitted identifier of the recipient;

receiving, by the recipient computer from the server computer, an encryption key;

and

decrypting, by the recipient computer, the received encrypted file using the received encryption key.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises the encryption key.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises a voiceprint identifier assigned to a voiceprint of the recipient.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the voice check ticket consists of the voiceprint identifier, the encryption key, and the voice check text.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the address is a Universal Resource Locator (URL).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the encrypted file comprises receiving the encrypted file as an attachment to an e-mail message from the sender to the recipient, and wherein the voice check text is a copy of a portion of e-mail text of the e-mail message.

7. A system comprising:

a recipient computer of a recipient;

and a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the recipient computer, causes the computer to perform a method for decoding an encrypted file, said method comprising;

receiving the encrypted file;

wherein the encrypted file has a filename that includes an encoded address in the filename, wherein the encoded address identifies where a voice check ticket is stored, wherein the voice check ticket comprises voice check text, and wherein a prior name of the encrypted file and the encoded address are merged together within the filename;

parsing the received filename;

extracting the encoded address from the parsed filename;

accessing the voice check ticket at the encoded address extracted from the parsed filename;

receiving from the voice check ticket, the voice check text;

displaying the received voice check text visually on a computer display of the recipient computer;

prompting the recipient to read aloud the displayed voice check text;

receiving, by the recipient computer, an audio signal from a reading aloud by the prompted recipient of the displayed voice check text;

receiving an identifier of the recipient;

transmitting to a server computer comprising a voice check server, the received audio signal and the received identifier of the recipient;

wherein voice check the server computer has converted the audio signal to first text, determined that the first text matches the received voice check text, computed a voiceprint of the audio signal, and determined that the computed voiceprint matches a voiceprint stored in a voiceprint database of the voice check server and associated with the transmitted identifier of the recipient;

receiving from the server computer, an encryption key;

and

decrypting the received encrypted file using the received encryption key.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises the encryption key.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises a voiceprint identifier assigned to a voiceprint of the recipient.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the voice check ticket consists of the voiceprint identifier, the encryption key, and the voice check text.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the address is a Universal Resource Locator (URL).

12. The system of claim 7, wherein said receiving the encrypted file comprises receiving the encrypted file as an attachment to an e-mail message from the sender to the recipient, and wherein the voice check text is a copy of a portion of e-mail text of the e-mail message.

13. A non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a recipient computer of a recipient, causes the recipient computer to implement a method for decoding an encrypted file, said method comprising:

receiving from a sender computer of a sender, the encrypted file;

wherein the encrypted file has a filename that includes an encoded address in the filename, wherein the encoded address identifies where a voice check ticket is stored, wherein the voice check ticket comprises voice check text, and wherein a prior name of the encrypted file and the encoded address are merged together within the filename;

parsing the received filename;

extracting the encoded address from the parsed filename;

accessing the voice check ticket at the encoded address extracted from the parsed filename;

receiving from the voice check ticket, the voice check text;

displaying the received voice check text visually on a computer display of the recipient computer;

prompting the recipient to read aloud the displayed voice check text;

receiving an audio signal from a reading aloud by the prompted recipient of the displayed voice check text;

receiving an identifier of the recipient;

transmitting to a server computer comprising a voice check server, the received audio signal and the received identifier of the recipient;

wherein the voice check server has converted the audio signal to first text, determined that the first text matches the received voice check text, computed a voiceprint of the audio signal, and determined that the computed voiceprint matches a voiceprint stored in a voiceprint database of the voice check server and associated with the transmitted identifier of the recipient;

receiving from the server computer, an encryption key;

decrypting the received encrypted file using the received encryption key.

14. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises the encryption key.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the voice check ticket further comprises a voiceprint identifier assigned to a voiceprint of the recipient.

16. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the voice check ticket consists of the voiceprint identifier, the encryption key, and the voice check text.

17. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein the address is a Universal Resource Locator (URL).

18. The storage medium of claim 13, wherein said receiving the encrypted file comprises receiving the encrypted file as an attachment to an e-mail message from the sender to the recipient, and wherein the voice check text is a copy of a portion of e-mail text of the e-mail message.