Electronic Mail Certification via Cryptographic Hash Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for verifying and certifying electronic mail transactions modify the message content and require online comparisons, which can be disadvantageous for third parties and result in high resource consumption for telecommunications operators, especially when searching for data in high-volume records.
Innovation Solution
A method where the transmitting user sends an electronic mail through a conventional route and a copy to a certifying entity, allowing for certification without message manipulation, using digital signatures and trusted timestamping to create a certificate that is then sent back to the user, with the option to decompose and store the mail for certification purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current verification methods are used to certify electronic mail transactions, then delivery proof is obtained, but the message content is modified and online comparisons are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the certification process into two independent parts: (1) the original message transmission through conventional routes, and (2) a separate verification process that uses cryptographic hashes stored in a database. This allows delivery proof without modifying the original message content, as the verification compares hashes rather than the message itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating and storing cryptographic hashes of the message content before transmission occurs. These pre-stored hashes enable later verification without requiring online comparison or message modification, thus preserving message integrity while providing delivery proof.
2Reliability
If current verification methods are used to certify electronic mail, then delivery verification is achieved, but high resource consumption occurs for searching data in high-volume records
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of searching through high-volume transaction records to verify delivery, the system creates and stores cryptographic hash copies of message content in a dedicated database. Verification is achieved by comparing these pre-stored hash copies rather than searching original records, dramatically reducing resource consumption while maintaining verification reliability.
3Reliability
If a second route through a certifying entity's server is used to certify a message, then certification is obtained, but the original message is transformed and not the truly original sent by the sender
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces cryptographic hashes as an intermediary element that mediates between the original message and the certification process. The hash serves as a fingerprint that verifies the original message's authenticity without requiring the message to pass through or be transformed by the certifying entity's server. The certifying entity only stores and compares hashes, preserving the original message's integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
The object of the invention is a method to receive and send electronic mail from a transmitting user to a recipient, generating proof of the operation transactions to submit the transmitting user a certificate as a trusted third party. To that end, it features the steps of reception in a mail server (11) of a copy of the first electronic message sent by the transmitting user (1) to the recipient (2), the later delivery of a copy of the first electronic message to the recipient (2) together with a particular indication, so that the recipient (2) receives (14) a second electronic message copy of the first electronic message from the mail server, which comprises that particular indication. Finally, the data processing unit (11) creates an electronic document with the transactional data of the delivered copy and signs it digitally creating a certificate (4) that is sent to the initial user (1).