Systems and methods for authenticating an electronic message

• US 9,444,625 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Postal Service (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: United States Postal Service (Government of the United States of America)
• Inventors: Campbell, Leo J., Cook, Jon L., Chamberlain, Charles R., McGrath, Michael J., Schoen, Isadore
• Primary Examiner(s): BROWN, CHRISTOPHER J
• Application Number:
  US13/936,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20130297931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,163 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 713/178
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00733 Cryptography or similar special procedures in a franking system
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00766 Digital signature, e.g. DSA, DSS, ECDSA, ESIGN
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00798 using timestamps, i.e. recording time in message
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00927 Certificates, e.g. X.509
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/76 Proxy, i.e. using intermediary entity to perform cryptographic operations network architectures or network communication protocols using hop-by-hop encryption H04L63/0464
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/321 involving a third party or a trusted authority
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for authenticating electronic messages. A data structure is generated by a computer server which allows for the authentication of the contents and computer server identity of a received electronic message and provides a trusted stamp to authenticate when the message was sent. Data which can authenticate the message, the computer server identity, and the time the message was sent is included into a data structure which is called an Electronic PostMark (EPM).

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for authenticating an electronic message, comprising:

receiving, by an authentication server and from a sender client, an electronic message generated automatically by the sender client and transmitted at a predefined time, wherein the electronic message includes message data and a recipient address;

receiving, by the authentication server at a predefined time and from the sender client, a request to authenticate the electronic message and a hash value derived from the message data;

generating an electronic postmark data structure, the electronic postmark data structure comprising at least one of;

the hash value;

time and date information;

branding data from a system registry; and

a digital signature generated for the electronic postmark data structure;

storing a copy of the electronic postmark data structure in a log file; and

sending, from the authentication server, the electronic postmark data structure first to a recipient client associated with the recipient address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating an authorized digital key for the electronic postmark data structure, wherein the recipient can use the authorized digital key to verify the electronic postmark data structure; and

sending the digital key to the recipient client.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a public digital key for the recipient; and

exporting the public digital key to a key authenticator.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein exporting the public digital key to a key authenticator includes using a key authenticator which is one of a key signing authority or a certificate authority.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

receiving updates to the time and date information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the branding data is from a system registry of an operating system.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interfacing with the system registry via a configuration manager graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a request to authenticate the electronic message includes receiving the electronic message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the electronic postmark data structure to the recipient client includes sending the electronic message.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a digest of the log file.

11. A system for authenticating an electronic message, comprising:

a sender client that automatically generates and transmits an electronic message at a predefined time, wherein the electronic message includes message data and a recipient address;

an authentication server including;

a receiver that receives, at a predefined time and from the sender client, a request to authenticate the electronic message and a hash value;

a temporal component that obtains time and date information;

a branding component that receives branding data from a system registry;

a signature component that generates a digital signature;

a generating component that generates an electronic postmark data structure comprising at least one of;

the hash value;

time and date information;

branding data from a system registry; and

a digital signature generated for the electronic postmark data structure;

a database that stores a copy of the electronic postmark data structure in a log file; and

a sending component that sends the electronic postmark data structure to a recipient client, wherein the recipient client is configured to send the electronic postmark data structure to a recipient.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a key generating component that generates an authorized digital key for the electronic postmark data structure, wherein the recipient can use the authorized digital key to verify the electronic postmark data structure, and wherein the sending component sends the digital key to the recipient client.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a public key generating component that generates a public digital key for the recipient; and

an exporting component that exports the public digital key to a key authenticator.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the exporting component exports the public digital key to a key authenticator which is one of a key signing authority or a certificate authority.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the temporal component receives updates to the time and date information.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the branding data is from a system registry of an operating system.

17. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

an interfacing component that interfaces with the system registry via a configuration manager graphical user interface.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the receiver receives the electronic message.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the sending component sends the electronic message to the recipient client.

20. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a digest component that creates a digest of the log file.