Email Privacy Plug-in Encryption for Sender Identity Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In today's business environment, electronic mail communications often result in unintended third parties receiving and responding to initial emails, leading to unnecessary responses for the sender, highlighting a need for efficient email management that secures the sender's email address privacy.
Innovation Solution
A method and computer program product that encrypts the sender's email address using a privacy plug-in on the sender's email client, transmits the encrypted address to intended recipients, and decrypts it upon receipt using respective public and private keys, while stripping other recipients' addresses and providing hyperlinks for correct plug-in installation, ensuring the sender's address is hidden from unintended recipients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sender's e-mail address is transmitted in plain text to multiple recipients, then the communication process is simple and direct, but the sender's privacy is compromised and unintended third parties can respond to the sender
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the email address information by encrypting the sender's address separately from the email body and recipient list. The encryption process divides the original plaintext address into an encrypted form that can be transmitted safely, while the decryption capability is selectively provided only to intended recipients through their private keys. This segmentation allows the sender's identity to be protected during transmission while still enabling authorized communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces encryption as an intermediary mechanism between the sender's email address and the recipients. The encrypted email address acts as a mediator that conceals the actual sender identity during transmission. The decryption process using recipient-specific private keys serves as another intermediary layer that selectively reveals the sender's address only to authorized parties, preventing unintended third parties from accessing or responding to the sender.
2Reliability
If encryption is applied to the sender's e-mail address to protect privacy, then the sender's privacy is secured, but the system complexity increases due to key management and plug-in requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service functionality where the encryption and decryption processes are automatically handled by the email client software without requiring manual intervention from users. The system automatically encrypts the sender's email address before transmission and automatically decrypts it for intended recipients. This automation eliminates the need for users to manually manage encryption keys or understand cryptographic processes, making the privacy protection transparent and easy to use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal encryption mechanism that works across different email clients and platforms through the use of standardized public-key cryptography. The privacy plug-in is designed to be compatible with various email systems, providing consistent privacy protection regardless of the specific email client being used. This multi-functionality approach allows the encryption system to operate seamlessly across diverse technical environments without requiring users to learn different procedures for different systems.
3Reliability
If the sender's e-mail address is encrypted using public key infrastructure, then the privacy security is enhanced, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial encryption by encrypting only the sender's email address portion of the email message, rather than encrypting the entire email content. This selective approach provides the necessary privacy protection for the sender's identity while minimizing the computational overhead associated with encrypting and decrypting large amounts of data. The partial action principle allows the system to achieve the essential security goal without the excessive processing burden of full-message encryption.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and program product for securing privacy of an e-mail address is provided. The method includes generating an e-mail message to one or more recipients on a sender e- mail client and encrypting, using a privacy plug-in installed on the sender e-mail client, an e- mail address of the sender, using a respective public key corresponding to each recipient. The method further includes transmitting the e-mail message to the recipients with the sender e-mail address encrypted and decrypting, upon receipt by a respective recipient e- mail client, the sender's e-mail address without displaying the sender's e-mail address. The transmitting step further includes stripping, before the e-mail is sent, an e-mail address of any other recipient besides the recipient to whom the e-mail is sent and sending a hyperlink to a web site for installing the privacy plug-in on a recipient client, such that the recipient can reply to the sender.