Systems and methods for authenticating an electronic message
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorsLeo J. Campbell, Jon L. Cook, Charles R. Chamberlain, Michael J. McGrath, Isadore Schoen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for authenticating electronic messages. A data structure is generated by a computer server which allows for the authentication of the contents and computer server identity of a received electronic message and provides a trusted stamp to authenticate when the message was sent. Data which can authenticate the message, the computer server identity, and the time the message was sent is included into a data structure which is called an Electronic PostMark (EPM).
Claims20
A computer-implemented method for authenticating an electronic message, comprising:
- receiving, by an authentication server and from a sender client, an electronic message generated automatically by the sender client and transmitted at a predefined time, wherein the electronic message includes message data and a recipient address;
- receiving, by the authentication server at a predefined time and from the sender client, a request to authenticate the electronic message and a hash value derived from the message data;
- generating an electronic postmark data structure, the electronic postmark data structure comprising at least one of:
- the hash value;
- time and date information;
- branding data from a system registry;
- and
- a digital signature generated for the electronic postmark data structure;
- storing a copy of the electronic postmark data structure in a log file;
- and
- sending, from the authentication server, the electronic postmark data structure first to a recipient client associated with the recipient address.
A system for authenticating an electronic message, comprising:
- a sender client that automatically generates and transmits an electronic message at a predefined time, wherein the electronic message includes message data and a recipient address;
- an authentication server including:
- a receiver that receives, at a predefined time and from the sender client, a request to authenticate the electronic message and a hash value;
- a temporal component that obtains time and date information;
- a branding component that receives branding data from a system registry;
- a signature component that generates a digital signature;
- a generating component that generates an electronic postmark data structure comprising at least one of:
- the hash value;
- time and date information;
- branding data from a system registry;
- and
- a digital signature generated for the electronic postmark data structure;
- a database that stores a copy of the electronic postmark data structure in a log file;
- and
- a sending component that sends the electronic postmark data structure to a recipient client, wherein the recipient client is configured to send the electronic postmark data structure to a recipient.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.