Method of managing metadata in attachments to e-mails in a network environment

• US 7,895,276 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2007
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Litera Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Litera Technology LLC
• Inventors: Massand, Deepak
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US11/699,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,485 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-207, 707694-695, 707/203, 715229-231
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002

Abstract

A method and system for removing metadata from email attachments sent from mobile devices includes receiving an email with an attached document. The attached document has metadata removed to create a cleansed version of the attached document. The attached document is replaced by the cleansed version of the attached document, and the email is sent according to the address or addresses included in the email.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting an electronic document, comprising:

receiving an email message having a delivery address at an intermediate computer system;

determining whether the email message has an attached document;

in the event the email message has the attached document;

automatically creating a cleansed version of the attached document at the intermediate computer system that received the email message by removing at least a portion of the metadata from the attached document;

replacing in the email message the attached document with the cleansed version of the attached document; and

sending the email message with the cleansed version of the attached document from the intermediate computer system to the delivery address.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing is performed by invoking a metadata removal application.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving the cleansed version of the attached document.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying an end user associated with the email message received at the intermediate computer that the attached document included metadata.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the intermediate computer system receiving the email message having an attached document is an email server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the email message is received from a mobile computing device, a Blackberry™

, a Palm TREO™

, or other Smartphone.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the email message is received from webmail.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically creating a cleansed version of the attached document further includes removing only pre-specified types of metadata in accordance with a cleansing policy.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving an entry in a log to indicate the email message had the attached document replaced by the cleansed version of the attached document.

10. A method of transmitting an electronic document, comprising:

receiving an email message having a delivery address at an intermediate computer system from a mobile electronic device;

determining whether the email message has an attached document;

in the event the email message has an attached document;

determining, at the intermediate computer system, whether the attached document is to be cleansed of metadata according to a cleansing policy;

in the event the attached document is to be cleansed;

automatically removing metadata from the attached document;

creating a cleansed version of the attached document at the intermediate computer system that received the email message;

replacing in the email message the attached document with the cleansed version of the attached document; and

sending the email message with the cleansed version of the attached document from the intermediate computer system to the delivery address.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising saving the cleansed version of the attached document.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleansing policy specifies the attached document is to be cleansed if it is a RTF document or a PDF document or an MS®

OFFICE document, including a WORD document, an EXCEL®

document, a PowerPoint®

document, a Visio®

document, or a FrontPage®

document.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleansing policy specifies the attached-document is to be cleansed if the attached document comes from a specific user.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleansing policy specifies the attached document is to be cleansed if the attached document is a company document or a specific department document.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleansing policy specifies the attached document is to be cleansed if the attached document contains a pre-specified type of metadata.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the cleansing policy allows users to choose not to cleanse pre-specified types of metadata.

17. A method of preventing unauthorized transmission of metadata in electronic documents, comprising:

receiving at an intermediate computer system an email having a delivery address and an attached electronic document sent from a mobile electronic device, the attached electronic document including primary data and metadata;

automatically removing the metadata from the attached electronic document at the intermediate computer system that received the email;

transmitting the received email, including the attached electronic document that has had the metadata removed, from the intermediate computer system that received the email.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein only pre-determined types of metadata are removed.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising,

requesting permission to remove the metadata prior to said removing;

in the event the permission is denied,

transmitting the received email with the attached electronic document that includes the metadata.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the email is received from a Blackberry™

, a Palm TREO™

, other Smartphone, a mobile computing device, or Web-mail.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the intermediate computer system that receives the email forwards it to an email server.