Patent · US Active

Method and apparatus for enabling authentication of e-mail messages

US7584255B1 · kind B1 · utility

11Cited by
13References
31Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 15, 2004
Grant dateSep 1, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 24, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L63/1475
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Method and apparatus for enabling authentication of e-mail messages. A message code is embedded in an e-mail, where the message code can be used by the recipient to verify the authenticity of the e-mail. In some embodiments, this code can be created for a particular e-mail message; in other embodiments, the code is created as a watermark for use in all e-mail to a specific recipient. The message code is associated with both the e-mail message and the recipient. In the case of a message-specific code, a recipient can verify the e-mail message by inputting the code via a Web server to be looked up in the database. The invention can be implemented in a system including a server which creates e-mail messages and injects message codes and a database for storing codes and recipient e-mail addresses.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.