Message Attestation for Sealed Sender Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing secure message communication systems face challenges in filtering encrypted messages and determining sender identities, which complicates spam blocking and other filtering processes.
Innovation Solution
A message sender provides a signed attestation to a message delivery server, indicating authorization to send a message without revealing the sender's identity, using cryptographic materials and techniques such as ring signatures and verifiability oblivious pseudorandom functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If end-to-end encryption protocols are used to ensure message security, then message confidentiality is improved, but message filtering capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication function from the message content. A separate signed attestation mechanism is introduced that contains only authentication metadata (sender authorization information) without message content. This allows the attestation to be processed by filtering systems while the actual message remains encrypted and private.
Solution Approach 2:
The signed attestation acts as an intermediary object between the sender and the filtering system. It provides the necessary authentication information to allow or block messages without revealing the actual message content, enabling filtering to occur on metadata rather than encrypted payload.
2Reliability
If sender identity is hidden to protect privacy, then sender anonymity is improved, but filtering accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates authentication information from identity revelation. The signed attestation contains cryptographic proof of authorization while using pseudonyms or anonymous identifiers that do not directly reveal the sender's real identity to intermediaries, maintaining privacy while enabling verification.
Solution Approach 2:
Different levels of identification are applied at different stages: the attestation provides sufficient identification for filtering purposes (local quality for filtering) while the message transmission maintains full anonymity (local quality for privacy). The system applies identification only where necessary for the specific function being performed.
3Ease of operation
If simple mail transfer protocol is used for message transmission, then transmission simplicity is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent nests multiple security layers within the simple SMTP framework. The signed attestation is embedded in the SMTP envelope, and end-to-end encryption is applied to the message body. This allows the simple SMTP protocol to be used for transmission while security functions are nested within it, maintaining compatibility without sacrificing security.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed relating to improving secure message communication. In various embodiments, a message delivery server receives a request to deliver an encrypted message from a sender to a recipient. The encrypted message obfuscates the identity of the sender such that the message delivery server is unable to determine the identity of the sender. The message delivery server determines whether to deliver the encrypted message based on a signed attestation received with the request and, based on the determining, delivers the encrypted message to the recipient. In some embodiments, the determining includes verifying the signed attestation using a verification key provide by the sender. In some embodiments, the encrypted message is an email, a text message, a push notification, or a video or audio call request.