System and method for verifying delivery and integrity of electronic messages

(i9) United States

(12) Patent Application Publication

Tomkow et al.

US 20060112165A9

(io) Pub. No.: US 2006/0112165 A9

(48) Pub. Date: May 25, 2006 CORRECTED PUBLICATION

(54) SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VERIFYING DELIVERY AND INTEGRITY OF ELECTRONIC MESSAGES

(76) Inventors: Terrence A. Tomkow, Los Angeles, CA (US); Zafar D. Khan, Manhattan Beach, CA (US)

(51)

(52) (57)

ABSTRACT

A first party (e.g. educational testing service) provides through the internet to a control server information (e.g. test server) relating to a second party (e.g. a student taking tests prepared by the service). The server provides and may store a verification (e.g. an encrypted digital signature) of, but does not store, the second party information. The server transmits the information and the verification through the internet to the second party. The second party transmits to the server through the internet the information and the verification with a request to transmit the information to a designated third party (e.g. a college or university to which the student has applied for admission). The server authenticates the information through verification comparisons (or through comparison of the information with the reconstruction and decryption of the verification) and transmits the information, authenticated by the server and the testing service, to the third party.

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f RS GENERATES AND STORES A HASH FOR EACH FILE ATTACHED \ TO THE MESSAGE

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RS CREA TES A SECOND COPY TO MODIFY THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE

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THE ORIGINAL SUBJECT LINE OF THE MESSAGE IS AMENDED TO INDICATE THA T THE COPY IS REGISTERED(e.g. BY PRE-PENDING "(REGISTERED")

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A NOTICE THA T THE MESSAGE IS REGISTERED BY THE RS, TOGETHER WITH LINKS TO THE RS'S www SUE ARE APPENDED TO THE BODY OF THE MESSAGE.

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EMAIL HEADERS ARE ADDED REQUESTING A MAIL USER AGENT(MUA) READING NOTIFICATION IN A VARIETY OF HEADER FORMA TS RECOGNIZED BY VARIOUS MUAs. THE

REQUEST FOR NOTIFICATION DIRECTS THE NOTIFICA TION TO AN DESTINATION WHOSE NAME IS THE ADDRESS OF THE ORIGINA TOR OF THE MESSAGE AND WHOSE ADDRESS IS A rpost com ACCOUNT SET UP FOR THIS PURPOSE. THE NOTIFICATION WILL USE THE ADDRESS OF THE ORIGINAL SENDER IN THE NAME FIELD OF THE MUA REQUEST. (e.g.DISPOSITIONSNOTIFICA TION-TO:jsmith§adomin.com <readreceipt@rpostcom>)

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TRANSMIT THE MESSAGE (GOTO FIGB)