Email Gateway Metadata Removal for Mobile Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems fail to effectively remove sensitive metadata from electronic documents attached to emails sent from mobile devices, such as Blackberry and Palm Treo, leading to unauthorized sharing of proprietary information.
Innovation Solution
A computer-based system and method that analyzes emails for attached documents, identifies and removes metadata, creating a cleansed version of the document, and replaces the original attachment with the metadata-free version before sending, with optional user override and logging of cleaned attachments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional email systems are used to send documents from mobile devices, then ease of operation is improved, but sensitive metadata is unintentionally transmitted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of email attachments for metadata before the email is sent. The gateway server scans documents for sensitive metadata fields (author, company, creation date, etc.) and removes or redacts them before the email reaches the recipient, preventing unauthorized transmission while maintaining ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary gateway server is introduced between the mobile device and the email delivery system. This gateway analyzes attachments, removes sensitive metadata, and forwards the cleaned email, thus protecting against metadata leakage without requiring changes to user behavior or mobile device functionality.
2Reliability
If metadata removal is implemented at the desktop level, then metadata protection is improved, but mobile device metadata transmission cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway server provides universal metadata removal functionality that works with emails from any device (mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, desktops). It supports multiple document formats (Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint) and removes various types of metadata (author, company, creation date, revision history), making the solution broadly applicable across different platforms and devices.
Solution Approach 2:
By positioning the metadata removal function at the gateway level rather than requiring desktop software, the system achieves universality across all device types. The gateway acts as a central intermediary that processes all incoming emails regardless of their source device, ensuring consistent metadata protection for mobile, portable, and stationary devices alike.
3Reliability
If all metadata is removed from documents, then security is improved, but useful document information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies selective metadata removal rather than blanket deletion. It identifies and removes only sensitive metadata fields (author, company, creation date, last modified by, revision history) while preserving the document content and potentially useful metadata. This localized approach maintains data security while retaining necessary document information.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway provides feedback to users about metadata that will be removed from their attachments. Users can review the identified metadata fields and choose to override the removal for specific fields if desired, allowing them to balance security concerns with information retention needs on a case-by-case basis.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for remotely removing metadata from electronic documents includes receiving an electronic document from an electronic device, determining that the electronic document includes a pre-determined type of metadata, and generating a request for confirmation that at least a portion of the pre-determined type of metadata should be removed. Based on the confirmation, at least a portion of the pre-determined type of metadata is removed from the electronic document before it is transmitted.