Email Sequence Marker for Phishing Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Bulk email senders and email service providers face challenges in identifying fraudulent emails, such as phishing attempts, which can deceive recipients and lead to unopened emails due to uncertainty about email safety.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to verify the authenticity of emails by generating a current sequence marker based on the sequential history of email correspondence between senders and receivers, which is inserted into the subject line of the email, allowing recipients to verify the sequence identifier without opening the email, thereby enhancing the detection of potential phishing attempts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bulk email senders send emails to their client bases, then communication and information delivery are improved, but recipients cannot distinguish legitimate emails from phishing attempts, leading to emails being unopened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by inserting a sequence marker into the email subject line before the email is sent. This pre-inserted marker serves as an advance authentication signal that recipients can check without opening the email, thereby resolving the contradiction by providing verification capability beforehand that increases both reliability and ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The sequence marker acts as an intermediary element between the sender and recipient. It is a visible indicator inserted into the subject line that mediates the trust relationship, allowing recipients to verify authenticity without opening the email, thus solving the contradiction between verification reliability and ease of operation
2Reliability
If recipients verify email authenticity by opening emails, then phishing detection is improved, but email opening rates decrease due to security uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication verification function from the email opening action. By placing a sequence marker in the subject line that can be verified externally, the system separates the verification function from the email opening process, allowing recipients to check authenticity without opening the email, thus improving phishing detection while maintaining high opening rates
Solution Approach 2:
The sequence marker provides preliminary authentication information in the subject line before the email is opened. This preliminary verification mechanism allows recipients to assess email safety without opening it, resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and opening rate by providing verification capability in advance
3Adaptability or versatility
If email senders use forged sender addresses or clone phishing attempts, then deception capability is improved, but email security and trust are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The sequence marker system implements feedback by providing a verifiable authentication signal that recipients can check against their knowledge of the sender's communication patterns. This feedback mechanism allows recipients to detect forged addresses and clone phishing attempts, countering deceptive capabilities with reliable verification and thus improving email trustworthiness
Solution Approach 2:
The sequence marker serves as an intermediary authentication element that bridges the trust gap created by forged sender addresses and clone phishing. By inserting this verifiable marker into the subject line, the system provides an additional layer of trust verification that counteracts deceptive attack methods and improves overall email reliability
Data Source
AI summary
Herein is disclosed a method of verifying the authenticity of emails sent from a first email application of a sender to a second email application of a recipient, the emails each having a sender's email address, a receiver's email address, and a user accessible field for receiving content. The content of the user accessible field is visible to the recipient upon opening an email inbox in the second email application. The method includes the steps of first identifying the receiver for an email to be sent by the sender. A current sequence marker for the receiver is then generated. The current sequence marker represents a next sequence identifier in a sequence of emails between the sender and the receiver. The current sequence marker is then inserted into the user-accessible field of the email and the email is then sent.