Email Client Account-Specific Encryption Key Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Enterprise security concerns require separation of enterprise and personal data on mobile devices, but using the same encryption key for both can be risky and may compromise security if compromised, and separate workspaces can degrade user experience by limiting data sharing between personal and enterprise tasks.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a framework that uses separate encryption keys for different email accounts within an email client, with a key rotation service to manage and escrow encryption keys, ensuring enterprise data is stored separately and securely.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the same encryption key is used for both personal and enterprise email accounts, then user experience is improved through simplified key management, but security is degraded because compromise of one account exposes the other

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvekey management simplicityVSAvoidsecurity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the encryption key management into separate segments: one encryption key for personal email accounts and a different encryption key for enterprise email accounts. This segmentation ensures that compromise of one key does not expose the other, while the system manages multiple keys transparently to maintain ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If separate workspaces are utilized to separate enterprise and personal data, then security is improved through isolation, but user experience is degraded due to inability to share data between workspaces

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoiddata sharing capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by implementing security measures at the data level rather than requiring complete workspace separation. Different encryption keys are applied to different data types (personal vs. enterprise), allowing users to maintain a unified workspace interface while achieving security isolation through cryptographic means.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If separate encryption keys are used for different email accounts, then security is improved through isolation, but device complexity increases due to key management overhead

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidkey management system

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service automation where the email client automatically detects the account type (personal or enterprise) and applies the appropriate encryption key without requiring user intervention. The system autonomously manages key selection, storage, and rotation, eliminating manual key management complexity for users.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11550964B2Account-specific security in an email client

Publication Date: 2023.01.10 OMNISSA LLC

AI summary

Examples of account-specific security in an email client are disclosed. A master key can be generated by the email client. The master key can be used to encrypt account specific account keys. Email data in the email database accessed by the email client can be encrypted by the account keys.