Mobile Wireless Message Signing with Full Context Retrieval

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Solution Overview

Problem

In mobile wireless communication systems, efficiently signing responsive e-mail messages that include only an initial portion of the original message is challenging due to truncation issues, leading to complexity for users and potential context misplacement at the recipient's end.

Innovation Solution

A method is introduced where the mobile wireless device prompts users with a warning dialog offering options to either send a truncated message or download and include the entire original message, with automated background downloading of the remainder, ensuring full message security and end-to-end verification.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the mobile device sends only an initial portion of the original message to save bandwidth and storage, then message transmission efficiency is improved, but the recipient cannot perform complete digital signature verification and message context is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemessage transmission efficiencyVSAvoiddigital signature verification completeness
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the necessary portion of the original message (initial portion) for transmission to the mobile device, while keeping the complete message on the server. This allows the mobile device to work with a truncated version for composition, while the server retains the full context for verification and forwarding.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The messaging server acts as an intermediary that holds the complete original message. When digital signature processing is requested, the server provides the full message context to the communication application, enabling verification while the mobile device only handles the truncated version.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If the mobile device downloads the entire original message before signing, then complete message verification is achieved, but device storage requirements and download time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemessage verification completenessVSAvoidmessage download time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing the complete original message on the messaging server before it is needed for verification. When the mobile device needs to sign a message, the server already has the full context ready to provide, eliminating the need for time-consuming downloads from remote sources.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The messaging server maintains a copy of the complete original message while the mobile device works with a truncated version. This copying approach allows the full message to be available instantly on the server without requiring the mobile device to download and store the entire message.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If the communication application requests the entire message for signing, then accurate digital signature can be generated, but user operation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedigital signature accuracyVSAvoiduser operation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The communication application automatically requests and retrieves the complete original message from the messaging server when digital signature processing is needed. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for users to manually obtain or attach the full message, as the system handles it transparently in the background.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The message handling is segmented into two parts: the mobile device composition application works with the initial portion for user-friendly composition, while the server handles the complete message for verification and signing operations, separating concerns and simplifying user interaction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP2259512B1System and method of cross-component message processing
Publication Date: 2012.08.08 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP2259512B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2259512B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2259512B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Often, for reasons of wireless bandwidth conservation, incomplete messages are provided to wireless messaging devices. Employing cryptography, for secrecy or authentication purposes, when including a received message that has been incompletely received can lead to lack of context on the receiver's end. By automatically obtaining the entirety of the message to be included, an outgoing message that includes the received message can be processed in a manner that securely and accurately represents the intended outgoing message.