System and method for enhanced data protection

A method comprising, by a computer system:

• receiving a transmission comprising:
• an encrypted payload, wherein the encrypted payload has been encrypted via a first symmetric key;
• and
• a second symmetric key;
• generating a recipient header comprising metadata related to the encrypted payload;
• transmitting the recipient header to an authentication server so as to initiate pre-access authentication;
• responsive to the transmitting, receiving an encrypted package from the authentication server, wherein the encrypted package has been encrypted via a public asymmetric key associated with the recipient, the encrypted package comprising an encrypted subportion that has been encrypted via the second symmetric key, the encrypted subportion comprising the first symmetric key;
• decrypting the encrypted package via a private asymmetric key associated with the computer system;
• decrypting the first symmetric key from the encrypted subportion of the decrypted encrypted package via the second symmetric key;
• and
• decrypting the encrypted payload via the decrypted first symmetric key.

A method comprising, by an authentication server:

• receiving, from a recipient computer system, a recipient header in relation to an encrypted payload received by the recipient computer system from a sender computer system, wherein the recipient header comprises metadata and recipient authentication information;
• causing the metadata of the recipient header to be correlated to a particular authentication header of a plurality of stored authentication headers;
• wherein the particular authentication header comprises:
• an encrypted data subportion that includes an authorized recipient list and an encrypted first symmetric key, wherein the encrypted first symmetric key is encrypted via a second symmetric key;
• and
• an encrypted third symmetric key, wherein the encrypted data subportion is encrypted via the encrypted third symmetric key, wherein the encrypted third symmetric key is encrypted via a public key associated with the authentication server;
• decrypting the encrypted third symmetric key via a private asymmetric key associated with the authentication server;
• decrypting the encrypted data subportion via the decrypted encrypted third symmetric key;
• authenticating the recipient computer system as an authorized recipient of the encrypted payload based, at least in part, on a determined match between the recipient authentication information and the authorized recipient list of the decrypted encrypted data subportion;
• responsive to the authenticating, encrypting the encrypted first symmetric key via a public asymmetric key associated with the recipient computer system to yield a doubly-encrypted first symmetric key;
• and
• transmitting the doubly-encrypted first symmetric key to the recipient computer system so that the encrypted payload can be decrypted by the recipient computer system.