Client-Side Public Key Synchronization for Secure Email
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for secure interactions over the Internet face challenges in discovering and obtaining public keys for secure communications, as the manual process is error-prone and often conducted over insecure channels, lacking a general adopted means for users to obtain necessary public keys for secure interactions or data exchanges.
Innovation Solution
A key synchronization system that automates client-side synchronization of public keys for external contacts by using a domain-to-registry mapping service and a key synchronizer to dynamically retrieve and store public keys from external key registries, ensuring secure communications without modifying client-side applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual public key provisioning is used, then users can obtain public keys for secure interactions, but the process is error-prone and requires secure out-of-band communication channels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary public key infrastructure that automatically discovers and provisions public keys between communicating parties. Instead of manual exchange, the system uses intermediate servers or services to facilitate automatic public key discovery and provisioning, eliminating the need for secure out-of-band channels while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service public key provisioning where the communicating parties automatically obtain each other's public keys through the infrastructure without manual intervention. The parties themselves perform the key exchange process automatically using standardized protocols, improving both ease of operation and reliability.
2Reliability
If certificate authorities are used to verify certificates, then unauthorized certificates can be detected, but certificate authorities are not foolproof and have mistakenly signed unauthorized certificates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the certificate verification process into multiple layers or levels. Instead of relying on a single certificate authority, the system divides verification across multiple trusted anchors or uses a hierarchical structure where different levels of CAs verify different aspects, reducing the risk of single-point failures and mistaken signings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms in certificate verification where the verification process continuously checks and validates certificates against multiple trusted sources. The feedback loop allows the system to detect and reject unauthorized certificates by comparing against multiple CA hierarchies or revocation lists, improving reliability while managing complexity through structured verification protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for automating client-side synchronization and discovery of public keys and certificates of external contacts include a key synchronizer at a client device. The key synchronizer obtains, from the client device, an external contact associated with an external domain outside of a local domain of the client device and then identifies, based on the external domain, a public key registry outside of the local domain. The key synchronizer obtains, from the public key registry, a registry-supplied public key or digital certificate for the external contact and then stores the registry-supplied key as a locally-stored key in the local key store such that the client device can obtain and apply the locally-stored key to secure an email targeting the external contact as a recipient of the email.