Blockmail Transfer Protocol for Email Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing email transmission protocols like SMTP result in redundant data transmission and loss of original message properties, leading to inefficiencies in network bandwidth usage and storage, as well as security concerns due to the inability to verify the integrity of message content across email threads.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a blockmail transfer protocol that breaks down electronic messages into hash-linked blocks, where each block includes a hash of the previous block's content, reducing redundant data transmission and ensuring message integrity through cryptographic validation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If SMTP protocol is used to transmit email threads with replies and forwards, then message content can be transmitted, but redundant data transmission occurs and network bandwidth is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The message is divided into multiple blocks where each block contains a segment of the message content. Instead of transmitting the entire message thread with all replies and forwards, only the relevant block segments are transmitted, eliminating redundant data transmission while maintaining complete message reconstruction capability at the receiver end.
2Productivity
If SMTP protocol is used to forward emails, then message can be transmitted, but original message properties are lost or modified
Solution Approach 1:
Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block's content, creating a chain of verification. This feedback mechanism allows the receiver to verify that message content has not been altered during transmission or forwarding, ensuring original message properties are preserved and enabling detection of any unauthorized modifications.
3Loss of information
If complete email threads are transmitted with all replies and forwards, then all message content is delivered, but storage space is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The message thread is segmented into multiple blocks that are stored and transmitted separately. Only the necessary block segments are retained in storage, and the segmented structure enables efficient retrieval and reconstruction of complete message content without storing redundant duplicate data across all thread participants.
4Ease of operation
If message content is transmitted in traditional format, then ease of transmission is maintained, but security against manipulation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The block chain structure with cryptographic hash verification provides automated security checks during transmission. Each block's hash serves as feedback to verify the integrity of previous blocks, creating a secure transmission mechanism that maintains operational simplicity while preventing unauthorized manipulation of message content.
Data Source
AI summary
An example operation may include one or more of receiving an electronic message from a sender that is intended for a recipient, breaking-up the electronic message into a plurality of message components and storing each message component in a respective block from among a plurality of blocks, linking the plurality of blocks of the broken-up electronic message together in a chain such that each successive block in the chain includes a hash of content included in a previous block of the chain, and transmitting the hash-linked chain of blocks of the broken-up electronic message via a network to the recipient.