Secure Unsent Message Storage for Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable communication and computing devices often lack secure storage for unsent messages when not connected to a network, as they cannot retrieve recipients' public keys immediately, leaving messages vulnerable to interception and alteration by malicious applications.
Innovation Solution
Implement a secure storage mechanism that determines the existence of a server connection to either use the recipient's public key for encryption or employs DPAPI to encrypt messages locally using a session key, ensuring secure storage until a network connection is established.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If messages are stored in system database until network connection is established, then messages can be sent when connection is available, but messages become vulnerable to interception and alteration by malicious applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by encrypting messages with the recipient's public key before storing them in the system database. This pre-encryption creates a protective barrier that prevents malicious applications from intercepting or altering message contents, as the messages remain encrypted throughout storage and only become decryptable when properly transmitted to the recipient.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by retrieving the recipient's public key in advance and using it to encrypt the message before storage. This ensures that the message is secured with proper encryption before it enters the vulnerable storage phase, rather than attempting to encrypt it after retrieval from the database.
2Adaptability or versatility
If device is not always connected to network, then device can operate independently, but device cannot retrieve recipient's public key immediately for encryption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by storing the recipient's public key locally on the device in advance, before offline operation is needed. This allows the device to encrypt messages immediately using the pre-stored public key even when not connected to the network, eliminating the delay that would otherwise occur while trying to retrieve the key during offline operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a local copy of the recipient's public key and storing it on the device. This copy enables the device to perform encryption operations independently without needing to access the original key source or maintain a continuous network connection to retrieve the key.
3Reliability
If messages are encrypted before storage, then message security is improved, but encryption key retrieval requires network connection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by retrieving and storing the recipient's public key locally before the device goes offline. This pre-positioning of the encryption key eliminates the time delay that would otherwise occur when attempting to retrieve the key during offline operation, allowing immediate encryption of messages without network connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying to create a local replica of the recipient's public key on the device. This local copy eliminates the need to access external sources or maintain network connections for key retrieval, thereby removing the time delay associated with key acquisition and enabling immediate encryption operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Unsent messages are securely stored in a client by determining whether a connection to a server exists. If the connection exists, the message can be sent using the intended recipient's public key. In response to a determination that a connection from the client to a server does not exist, information from the client can be used to encrypt a modulated data signal that is to be sent from the client to the server. The encrypted modulated data signal is stored on the client. When a determination is made that a connection from the client to the server exists, information from the client is used to decrypt the encrypted modulated data signal.