System and method for verifying delivery and integrity of electronic messages

• US 7,886,008 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2002
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPost Communications Limited (RPost International Limited)
• Original Assignee: RPost International Limited
• Inventors: Tomkow, Terrence A., Khan, Zafar D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US10/094,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20030172120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,259 Days
• Field of Search: 705/53, 705 78- 79, 709206-207, 709225-229, 709/250, 434/354, 235/375
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32

Abstract

A first party (e.g. educational testing service) provides through the internet to a control server information (e.g. test server) relating to a second party (e.g. a student taking tests prepared by the service). The server provides and may store a verification (e.g. an encrypted digital signature) of, but does not store, the second party information. The server transmits the information and the verification through the internet to the second party. The second party transmits to the server through the internet the information and the verification with a request to transmit the information to a designated third party (e.g. a college or university to which the student has applied for admission). The server authenticates the information through verification comparisons (or through comparison of the information with the reconstruction and decryption of the verification) and transmits the information, authenticated by the server and the testing service, to the third party.

Claims

1. A method of providing to a third party information provided by a first party relating to a second party, the steps by a control server of:

receiving electronically from a first party at the control server information relating to a second party,

generating a verification file including at least a portion of a mail transport protocol dialog generated during the transmission of the message from the first party to the control server, the mail transport protocol dialog including information related to the transmission of the message between the first party and the control server, and in addition includes matters relating to the identities of the first party and the control server,

storing the verification file,

transmitting to the second party electronically from the control server the information relating to the second party and verification file,

disposing of the information related to the second party at the control server relating to the second party after the information has been transmitted by the control server to the second party, but before the information relating to the second party has been authenticated by the control server,

receiving electronically at the control server from the second party the information relating to the second party and the verification file and a request by the second party to the control server to send the information to the third party,

thereafter authenticating at the control server the information received by the control server from the second party,

transmitting electronically from the control server to the third party the second party information received by the control server from the second party and authenticated by the control server.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein

the second party information transmitted to the control server by the second party for authentication includes a digital signature of the information relating to the second party.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein

the second party information is transmitted electronically by the control server on a registered basis to the second party and wherein

the second party information transmitted by the control server to the third party is authenticated by the control server before the second party information is transmitted by the control server to the third party and wherein

the control server does not retain the information transmitted by the first party to the control server relating to the second party after the control server transmits the information to the second party and before the information is authenticated wherein

the second party information transmitted by the control server to the third party is also authenticated by the first party.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the first party is an educational testing service and the second party is a student taking tests of the educational testing service and the information relating to the second party includes test scores of the student and the third party is a university or college to which the student has applied for admission.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein

the second party information is transmitted by the control server on a registered basis to the second party and wherein

the control server does not retain the information transmitted by the first party to the control server after the control server transmits the information to the second party and before the information has been authenticated.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein

the second party information transmitted by the control server to the third party is authenticated by the control server before the information is transmitted by the control server to the third party.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein

the second party information transmitted by the control server to the third party is also authenticated by the first party.

8. A method of providing to a third party information from a first party relating to a second party, the steps at a control server of:

receiving electronically at the control server from a first party information relating to a second party,

generating a verification file including at least a portion of a mail transport protocol dialog generated during the transmission of the message from first party to the control server, the mail transport protocol dialog including information related to the transmission of the message between the first party and the control server, and in addition includes matters relating to the identities of the first party and the control server,

storing the verification file,

transmitting to the second party from the control server electronically the information relating to the second party and the verification file of the information and of the sending of the information,

discarding at the control server the information relating to the second party,

thereafter receiving electronically at the control server from the second party the information relating to the second party and the verification file of the information and a request to transmit the information to the third party, and

authenticating at the control server the information received from the second party, and

transmitting to the third party from the control server the information relating to the second party after the information received at the control server from the second party has been authenticated.

9. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein

the information relating to the second party is authenticated by the control server, before the information is transmitted electronically by the control server to the third party, as a result of the authentication by the control server of the verification transmitted to the control server from the second party and wherein

the information received by the control server from the second party is disposed of at the control server after the information is transmitted by the control server to the second party and before the information is authenticated.

10. A method as set forth in claim 9 wherein

the second party is a student taking tests for admission to college and wherein the first party is the giver of the tests and wherein the information relating to the tests includes the test scores of the student and wherein the third party is a university or college to which the student has applied for admission.

11. A method as set forth in claim 10 wherein

the verification provided by the control server of the information relating to the second party includes an encrypted hash of the information.

12. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the second party transmits the verification electronically to the control server and wherein

the control server compares the verification transmitted to the control server by the second party and the verification received by the control server from the first party to authenticate the information transmitted electronically to the control server by the second party.

13. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein

the verified information is encrypted at the control server before it is transmitted to the second party and wherein

the verification is decrypted after it is received by the control server from the second party and wherein

the decrypted verification is converted to information and wherein

the information converted from the decrypted verification is compared with the information transmitted to the control server from the second party to authenticate the information received by the control server from the second party.

14. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein the verification provided by the control server of the information relating to the second party includes an encrypted hash of the information.

15. A method as set forth in claim 8 wherein

the control server receives the verification transmitted by the second party and wherein the verification provided by the control server of the information relating to the second party includes an encrypted hash of the information.

16. A method as set forth in claim 15 wherein

the information and the verification are sent electronically by the control server to the second party by registered e-mail and wherein

the control server does not retain the information relating to the second party after the control server sends the information and the verification by registered e-mail to the second party but before the control server provides any authentication of the information.

17. A method of providing to a third party information from a first party relating to a second party, the steps by a control server of:

transmitting from a first party to the control server information relating to a second party,

generating a verification including at least a portion of a mail transport protocol dialog generated during the transmission of the message from first party to the control server, the mail transport protocol dialog including information related to the transmission of the message between the first party and the control server, and in addition includes matters relating to the identities of the first party and the control server,

storing the verification,

transmitting from the control server to the second party the information relating to the second party and the verification of the information and the sending of the information,

before authentication of the information relating to the second party, transmitting from the second party to the control server the verification and the information relating to the second party and a request for the control server to submit the second party information to the third party,

before any authentication of the information relating to the second party,

discarding at the control server the information transmitted by the control server relating to the second party,

thereafter authenticating at the control server the information transmitted from the second party to the control server, and

transmitting from the control server to the third party the authenticated information relating to the second party.

18. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein

transmittals between the control server and the second party and from the control server to the third party are provided electronically and wherein

the control server does not retain the information relating to the second party after it transmits the information and the verification to the second party.

19. A method as set forth in claim 18 wherein

the transmittal between the control server and the second party is by registered e-mail.

20. A method as set forth in claim 17, including the steps of:

comparing the verification stored at the control server and the verification transmitted from the second party to the control server to authenticate the information received by the control server from the second party.

21. A method as set forth in claim 17, including the steps at the control server of:

verifying at the control server the information relating to the second party,

encrypting the verified information at the control server,

transmitting the information and the encrypted verification from the control server to the second party,

receiving at the control server the information and the encrypted verification from the second party,

decrypting the encrypted verification from the second party,

converting the verification to information represented by the verification, and

comparing the information transmitted to the control server and the converted verification to authenticate the information in accordance with the comparison.

22. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein

the verification at the control server is provided by an encrypted hash of the information relating to the second party.

23. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein

the second party is a student taking educational tests and the first party is the service providing the tests and the information relating to the second party is the identity of the student and the score of the student in the tests and the third party is a college or university to which the student has applied for admission.

24. A method as set forth in claim 17 wherein

the transmittal between the control server and the second party is electronic and wherein

the transmission electronically from the control server is registered by the control server and wherein

the verification at the control server is provided by an encrypted hash of the information relating to the second party.

25. A method of providing to a third party information from a first party relating to a second party, including the steps by a control server of:

transmitting information related to a second party information from a first party to the control server,

generating a verification including at least a portion of a mail transport protocol dialog generated during the transmission of the message from first party to the control server, the mail transport protocol dialog between the first party and the control server including information related to the transmission of the message between the first party and the control server, and in addition includes matters relating to the identities of the first party and the control server,

storing the verification,

transmitting the second party information, and the verification of the second party information, from the control server to the second party,

discarding at the control server the information relating to the second party,

thereafter receiving at the control server from the second party the second party information and the verification and a request for the control server to send the second party information to the third party,

authenticating at the control server the second party information previously sent by the control server to the second party and the verification transmitted by the second party to the control server, and

thereafter sending the authenticated second party information from the control server to the third party.

26. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein

the first party is a test giver and the second party is a student taking the test and the third party is a college or university interested in admitting the second party as a student and the information is the identity of the student and the score attained by the student in taking the test.

27. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein

the verification is an encrypted hash and wherein the control server does not retain a copy of the second party information when it sends the second party information to the second party.

28. A method as set forth in claim 25 wherein

the control server sends the second party information by registered e-mail to the third party.

29. A method of providing to a third party information provided by a first party relating to a second party, the steps by a control server of:

receiving information relating to a second party electronically at the control server from a first party,

generating a verification including at least a portion of a mail transport protocol dialog generated during the transmission of the message from first party to the control server, the mail transport protocol dialog between the first party and the control server including information related to the transmission of the message from the first party to the control server, and additionally including matters relating to the identities of the first party and the control server,

storing the verification,

providing electronically to the second party from the control server the information relating to the second party and the verification of the information relating to the second party,

thereafter disposing at the control server of the information transmitted by the control server to the second party relating to the second party,

receiving electronically at the control server from the second party the information relating to the second party and the verification of the information and a request from the second party for the control server to send to the third party the information relating to the second party, and

authenticating the information relating to the second party by comparing the information provided by the second party to the control server relating to the second and the verification transmitted by the second party to the control server.