Certified communications system and method

A method of acquiring, recording and then authenticating a voice communication from a communicating party by a service provider in a telecommunications system in which the recording services are provided to the communicating party comprising:

• acquiring and recording said voice communication from communicating party;
• said communicating party requesting the recording as a first adjunct to the recording;
• authenticating the identity of said party with a hierarchical authentication process as a second adjunct to the recording by assessing identity factors including said party's communications device, communications channel, and pre-communication profile, and higher levels of authentication being based upon categorical classification of the communication;
• distributing, after receiving a release acknowledgment from said party, an authenticated copy of said recorded communication with the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identity.

A method of acquiring, recording and then authenticating a voice communication between a first and a second communicating party by a service provider in a telecommunications system in which the recording services are provided to the communicating parties, said first communication party and second communication party at distal remote locations in said telecommunications and the recording stored in a secured record store comprising:

• acquiring said voice communication between said first and second communicating parties via said telecommunications and recording said voice communication in said secured record store;
• said first communicating party requesting and said second communicating party acknowledging the recording as a first adjunct to the recording, said first adjunct stored at a central location;
• authenticating at the central location the identity of said first party with a hierarchical authentication process as a second adjunct to the recording by assessing identity factors including said first party's communications device, communications channel, and pre-communication profile, and higher levels of authentication being based upon categorical classification of the communication;
• authenticating at the central location the identity of said second party with said hierarchical authentication process using less identity factors than used for said first party as a third adjunct to the recording;
• storing the second and third adjunct at said central location;
• distributing, after receiving a release acknowledgment from at least one party at said central location, an authenticated copy of said recorded communication with the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identities by compiling said recorded voice communication from the secured record store and the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identities from the central location.

In a telecommunications system, a computer-based authentication system operating over said telecommunications system, said authentication system having a recorder on said telecommunications system to capture a voice communication between a first and a second communicating party at distal remote locations, said authentication system having a server computer at a central location communicatively linked to said recorder, the authentication system comprising:

• a database on said central server maintaining a first communicating party's profile;
• a classifier on said central server permitting said communicating parties to classify, by remote manual selection or pre-set communication parameters, a categorical classification of the communication;
• said recorder acquiring said voice communication between said first and second communicating parties via said telecommunications system and recording said voice communication in a secured record store;
• said central server having an acknowledgment means for obtaining said second communicating party's acknowledgment of the recording, said central server obtaining, as a first adjunct to the recording, said second party acknowledgment and said acknowledgment means operative with said recorder over said telecommunications system;
• an identity authenticator on said server at the central location, the identity authenticator confirming the identity of said first party and said second party with a hierarchical authentication process as a second adjunct and a third adjunct to the recording;
• said identity authenticator coupled to said database and to said telecommunications system and assessing identity factors including said first party's communications device, first party's communications channel, and first party's profile, with higher levels of authentication imposed based upon categorical classification of the communication of said classifier, the identity of said first communicating party stored on said server as said second adjunct;
• said identity authenticator assessing the identity of said second party with said hierarchical authentication process using less identity factors than used for said first party and storing the identity of said second communicating party as said third adjunct to the recording;
• and,
• a content authenticator coupled to said recorder, said database and operative on said central server, said content authenticator obtaining a copy of the recorded voice communication from said secured record store upon receipt of a release acknowledgment from at least one communicating party at said server, said content authenticator releasing an authenticated copy of the recorded voice communication with the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identities.

A method of acquiring, recording and then authenticating a voice communication between a first and a second communicating party by a service provider in a telecommunications system in which the recording services are provided to the communicating parties comprising:

• acquiring and recording said voice communication between said first and second communicating parties;
• said first communicating party requesting and said second communicating party acknowledging the recording as a first adjunct to the recording;
• authenticating the identity of said first party with a hierarchical authentication process as a second adjunct to the recording by assessing identity factors including said first party's communications device, communications channel, and pre-communication profile, and higher levels of authentication being based upon categorical classification of the communication;
• authenticating the identity of said second party with said hierarchical authentication process using the same or less identity factors than used for said first party as a third adjunct to the recording;
• distributing, after receiving a release acknowledgment from at least one party, an authenticated copy of said recorded communication with the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identities.

A method of acquiring, recording and then authenticating a voice communication between a first and a second communicating party by a service provider in a telecommunications system in which the recording services are provided to the communicating parties comprising:

• acquiring and recording said voice communication between said first and second communicating parties;
• said first communicating party requesting and said second communicating party acknowledging the recording as a first adjunct to the recording;
• providing dynamic controls to first communicating party and said second communicating party for authenticating the identity of one or the other or both communicating parties, said authentication process generating an authentication adjunct to the recording by assessing identity factors including the party's communications device, communications channel, and pre-communication profile, and higher levels of authentication being based dynamic controls input by a respective communicating party;
• distributing, after receiving a release acknowledgment from at least one party, an authenticated copy of said recorded communication with the adjunct acknowledgment and authenticated party identities.