Method and system for securely scanning network traffic

An article of manufacture, which comprises a computer readable medium having stored therein a computer program carrying out a method for scanning contents of an encrypted data packet, the computer program comprising:

• a first code segment for acquiring an encryption parameter used by a first and second device to encrypt a data packet that is transmitted therebetween via the article of manufacture;
• a second code segment for decrypting the data packet, using the encryption parameter;
• a third code segment for restricting a user of the article of manufacture from accessing contents of the data packet;
• a fourth code segment for filtering the data packet based on whether the contents comply with a predetermined criterion associated with the article of manufacture.

A method of transmitting data, comprising:

• constructing a first encryption parameter with a firewall device that receives and forwards traffic intended for a private network device associated therewith;
• constructing with the firewall device, based on the first encryption parameter, a second encryption parameter that was previously negotiated between the firewall device and the private network device;
• receiving at the firewall device a transmission that is encrypted using the second encryption parameter;
• and
• sending the received transmission from the firewall device to the private network device.

A method of transmitting data, comprising:

• constructing an encryption parameter with a recipient device through a firewall device;
• sharing the encryption parameter with the firewall device;
• encrypting a transmission using the encryption parameter;
• and
• sending the transmission to the recipient device via the firewall device.

A method of filtering encrypted data at a firewall device, comprising:

• partitioning a filtering portion of the firewall device from an operator thereof;
• decrypting the encrypted data within the filtering portion;
• and
• forwarding the data if it complies with at least one filtering rule associated with the firewall device.

A firewall device, comprising:

• means for obtaining an encryption parameter common to both a first device and a second device;
• means for decrypting encrypted data transmitted from the first device using the encryption parameter;
• and
• means for forwarding the encrypted data to the second device.