Electronic Message Integrity via Blockchain Transaction Identifier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic messages, such as emails, can be easily modified during transmission or reception, compromising their integrity and making them unreliable as evidence in disputes, as current MIME standards lack a reliable method for ensuring message integrity.
Innovation Solution
A method that calculates an integrity value for an electronic message, stores it in a blockchain, and inserts a transaction identifier into an extension field in the message header, ensuring the message's integrity and verifiability using blockchain technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If electronic messages are transmitted using standard MIME format, then ease of operation and compatibility are improved, but message integrity and reliability deteriorate due to easy modification during transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by calculating the integrity value of the electronic message and storing it in a blockchain transaction before the message is transmitted. This pre-stored integrity value serves as a reference that cannot be altered later, ensuring that even if the message is modified during transmission, the original integrity can be verified through comparison with the blockchain-stored value.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is used to guarantee message integrity, then reliability and verifiability are improved, but device complexity and processing requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses blockchain as an intermediary system that mediates between the message sender and verifier. Instead of requiring complex direct verification mechanisms between parties, the blockchain serves as a neutral, trusted intermediary that stores the integrity value in a decentralized and tamper-proof manner, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high reliability.
3Reliability
If extension fields are added to MIME headers for integrity verification, then message verifiability is improved, but compatibility and standard adherence worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adding the extension field with the transaction identifier specifically to the MIME header where it is needed for integrity verification, without modifying the core MIME structure. This allows the integrity verification functionality to be added locally in a targeted manner, maintaining compatibility with existing MIME standards while providing enhanced verifiability where required.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for creating, and guaranteeing the integrity of electronic messages, within a server providing Internet service. The integrity of the electronic messages are guaranteed and verifiable according to the MIME standard having a header with data regarding routing and regarding content type, an address of the sender and at least one recipient address, and a body comprising a message content. The MIME standard allows the insertion, into the header, of one or more extension fields. These fields comprise a pair formed of one tag allowing the field to be identified and of a value. The inventive method comprises the steps of receiving the electronic message, calculating an integrity value for the electronic message, storing the integrity value in a transaction of a blockchain, receiving a transaction identifier, inserting the transaction identifier as the value associated with a specific tag in an extension field in the header of the electronic message the integrity of which is to be guaranteed. The electronic message thus obtained constituting the message the integrity of which is guaranteed and verifiable.