System for embedding searchable information, encryption, signing operation, transmission, storage and retrieval

#This invention is related in general to information transmission systems and, more particularly, to an information transmission system that is operable to be stored at a remote location as a secure file in a trusted environment.

#With the popularity of wireless “digital” computing devices, such as, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's) cell phones, cameras, video, audio recorders and other digital recorders, users have been afforded the ability to record and transmit digital media within seconds.

#With the advent of digital media, it has become increasingly easy to copy, counterfeit, falsify and misuse digital information of all kinds. This includes digital photographs, video & audio recordings of speech or musical performances, motion pictures and recordings of physical phenomena, such as meter readings or “black box” records. This digital media can be altered in ways that defy detection, audio recordings can be compressed and anonymously offered to the public with impunity, and time and date stamps on any of the media just listed can be easily changed with freely available tools.

#For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the overall operation of the system in accordance with the present disclosure;

#FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic view of the captured and encrypted file;

#Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of the overall operation of the system in accordance with the present disclosure. The system generally is directed toward a capture device 102 that is operable to capture, in this embodiment, an image of an individual; for example, the individual denoted by the reference numeral 104. This can be any type of scene or any type of information that is captured. This could be a video segment, a still picture or an audio segment. It should be understood that the capture device 104 could capture any type of information, not just video information. As will be described herein below, the purpose of the system of the present disclosure will be to not only capture information but to store the information in a secure and certifiable manner such that it is non-repudiable. The capture device is controlled by a user through an input/output (I/O) interface 106. The image 104, in this example, will be captured in the form of a capture file 108 stored in a storage area 110, this being a buffer area. The capture device 102 could be a cell phone that has a video camera associated therewith, any type of device having a digital camera associated therewith, an audio system for capturing an audio file, etc. The phone, in one example, can capture and digitize the image, or even a video segment.

#Once the captured image 108 is formed and temporarily stored, it then goes to the next step of the operation. In this step of the operation, a process block 112 is provided to obtain local certification. Local certification, in this example, is some certification that is viewed as providing information in such a manner that there is a high level of confidence in that information which is to be associated with the image as an integral part thereof and will, as described herein below, follow the image. For example, the information that is obtained will be time and date information and longitude and latitude information that is received from a GPS system (global positioning system), a conventional system. The time information, the date information and the longitude and latitude information are provided in such a manner that, when associated with the capture file 108, this provides some current validation that the file was created at that particular time and, at a later time, it could be identified by the fact that it has that information associated therewith. For example, a user could make a log, either printed or electronic of the image captured and, at a later time, by merely knowing what the time and data information was and the longitude and latitude information was, this would provide a higher degree of confidence that the later viewed file and the original captured file was the same and had not been tampered with or had not been reproduced at a later time and location.

#In order to provide this verification, the trusted entity is the GPS system, since this is a system that provides a time stamp and a longitude and latitude from the calibrated system. If this is implemented in such a manner that it is an integral part of the capture operation, i.e., it is integrated into the phone, for example, then a high degree of confidence is maintained that this was obtained basically at the time the capture was complete. The GPS system, as noted herein above, is a conventional system that utilizes a GPS receiver 114 that has an antenna 116 that is operable to receive information from a plurality of satellites 118. Typically, there can be anywhere from three to ten or more satellites from which information can be received to obtain an accurate location. Alternate techniques for recovering time, date and position information includes differential and Doppler analysis of very precise timing signals coming from a plurality of cellular/PCS base stations. A third technique for recovering time, date and position information includes retrieving information directly from the Mobility Management (MM) sub layer of the cellular protocol, where the mobile telephone service provider is a party to the transactions. Finally, another technique of retrieving accurate time and date information include use of a network time server.