Method and system for authorising electronic mail
First Claim
1. A method of authorising electronic mail sent by a sender to a recipient, the method including the steps of:
- (a) identifying and intercepting an unauthorised electronic mail before delivery to the recipient, the unauthorised electronic mail being identified through a comparison of details of the sender with details contained on a list of authorised senders; and
(b) automatically requesting that the sender of the unauthorised electronic mail provide verification before delivery of the electronic mail to the recipient;
wherein upon receipt of the verification, the sender is added to the list of authorised senders and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of authorising electronic mail sent by a sender to a recipient, the method including the steps of: identifying and intercepting an unauthorised electronic mail before delivery to the recipient, the unauthorised electronic mail being identified through a comparison of details of the sender with details contained on a list of authorised senders; and automatically requesting that the sender of the unauthorised electronic mail provide verification in the form of pre-determined information about the recipient before delivery of the electronic mail to the recipient; wherein upon receipt of the verification, the sender is added to the list of authorised senders and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient.
118 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method of authorising electronic mail sent by a sender to a recipient, the method including the steps of:
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(a) identifying and intercepting an unauthorised electronic mail before delivery to the recipient, the unauthorised electronic mail being identified through a comparison of details of the sender with details contained on a list of authorised senders; and
(b) automatically requesting that the sender of the unauthorised electronic mail provide verification before delivery of the electronic mail to the recipient;
wherein upon receipt of the verification, the sender is added to the list of authorised senders and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 29)
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15. A method of updating a whitelist containing details of a recipient'"'"'s authorised senders, the method including the steps of:
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(a) identifying an unauthorised electronic mail, the unauthorised electronic mail being addressed to the recipient and originating from a sender whose details are not included on the whitelist; and
(b) forwarding a request for verification to the sender; and
(c) receiving verification from the sender and including the sender'"'"'s details on the whitelist. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26)
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16. A method of continuously updating a list of authorised senders, the method including the steps of:
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(a) intercepting, at an intermediate destination, an electronic message addressed to a recipient where details of the sender are not contained on the list of authorised senders;
(b) automatically requesting that the sender provide a verification to confirm their identity; and
(c) receiving verification from the sender and adding the sender to the list of authorised senders and delivering the email to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 25, 30)
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27. A system for authorising electronic mail sent by an unauthorised sender to a recipient, the system including:
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(a) a whitelist containing a list of authorised senders;
(b) identification means for identifying unauthorised electronic mail sent to the recipient, the unauthorised electronic mail being identified by reference to the whitelist;
(c) interception means for intercepting unauthorised electronic mail before receipt by the recipient; and
(d) verification means operating, upon detection of an unauthorised email, to send a request for verification to the sender of an unauthorised electronic mail;
wherein upon receipt of the verification from the sender, the whitelist is modified to include the sender'"'"'s details and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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28. A mail server for determining authorisation of electronic mail sent by an unauthorised sender to a recipient, the server including
(a) a whitelist; -
(b) identification means for identifying unauthorised electronic mail sent to the recipient by reference to the whitelist; and
(c) verification means operating, upon detection of an unauthorised electronic mail, to send a request for verification to the sender of an unauthorised mail;
wherein upon receipt of verification from the sender, the whitelist is modified to include the sender'"'"'s details and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A method of authorising electronic mail sent by a sender to a recipient, the method including the steps of:
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(a) identifying and intercepting an unauthorised electronic mail before delivery to the recipient, the unauthorised electronic mail being identified through a comparison of details of the sender with details contained on a list of authorised senders; and
(b) automatically requesting that the sender of the unauthorised electronic mail provide verification in the form of pre-determined information about the recipient before delivery of the electronic mail to the recipient;
wherein upon receipt of the verification, the sender is added to the list of authorised senders and the electronic mail is forwarded to the recipient. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35)
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Specification