Telecom Operator Email Certification via Intermediary Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for sending certified electronic mails break the chain of custody and clash with the DMARC standard, as they require the recipient to download content for certification or simulate the user's signature, leading to mistrust and delivery issues.
Innovation Solution
A method where a telecommunications operator receives, redirects, and delivers electronic mails with recognized signatures intact, generating a certificate that includes transmission details, respecting the original signatures and DMARC standards, without requiring content download or simulating the user's signature, using interconnected mail servers and a data processing unit for certification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the recipient downloads content for certification, then the certification can be performed, but the process becomes complex and requires recipient action
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs certification automatically without requiring recipient action. The telecommunications operator's server receives the email, performs the certification process autonomously by generating cryptographic proofs of delivery, and sends the certificate back to the sender, making the entire process self-service and eliminating the need for recipient intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The certification process is initiated and completed in advance by the telecommunications operator before the recipient needs to verify it. The operator generates the certificate of delivery proof beforehand and makes it available to the sender, so no subsequent download or verification action is needed from the recipient side.
2Productivity
If the system simulates the user's signature for certification, then the certification process can proceed, but the chain of custody is broken and mistrust is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The telecommunications operator acts as an independent intermediary that receives the original email with the user's signature intact, performs certification without modifying or simulating the signature, and generates cryptographic proofs that verify the original signature's authenticity. This intermediary approach maintains both efficiency and trustworthiness by neither breaking the chain of custody nor requiring recipient action.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the original email for certification purposes while leaving the original intact. The telecommunications operator works with this copy to generate delivery proofs, ensuring the original signature and chain of custody remain unbroken while still enabling efficient certification processing.
3Reliability
If the system resends the email on behalf of the user, then certification can be achieved, but the DMARC standard is violated and delivery is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The telecommunications operator serves as an intermediary that receives the original email, performs certification in the background without resending, and generates certificates that prove delivery. This approach maintains DMARC compliance by not impersonating the sender while still achieving valid certification through independent verification and cryptographic proof generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The certification function is extracted from the email sending process itself. Instead of resending the email for certification, the system separates the certification operation into an independent process that receives the original email, verifies delivery through its own mechanisms, and generates proofs without interfering with the original email's DMARC-compliant delivery.
Data Source
AI summary
The object of the invention is a method for the certification of electronic mails with a recognised electronic signature wherein a telecommunications operator certifies the sending of a certified electronic mail on the part of a user client of said operator to another user non-client of the telecommunications operator respecting at all times the chain of custody and the original recognised electronic signatures in the resending and the certification, generating evidence at all times of the transaction, in such a way that it can be used as reinforced evidence in any court or as a reliable demonstration of a given transaction.