Patent ID: 8607334
Filing Date: 2013-12-10
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for secure message processing by a communication device to identify an email impersonation attack, the method comprising: receiving a secure electronic message from a sender, the secure electronic message including a header, contents, and a signature of the sender, the signature comprising a message hash encrypted with a private key of the sender, the header including a sender's address; checking local memory of the communication device for a public key of the sender; querying a certificate server over a wireless network to retrieve the public key when the public key was not found in the local memory and to retrieve a corresponding certificate, the querying including providing one or more parameters from the header of the secure electronic message to the certificate server to identify the sender, the certificate being a public key certificate; authenticating the public key and the corresponding certificate by comparing the sender's address provided in the header of the secure electronic message with the sender's address provided in the certificate; when the certificate is authenticated, checking the authenticity of the secure electronic message using the sender's public key and displaying the contents of the message when the secure electronic message is authenticated; and when the certificate fails to authenticate, providing a notification to a message recipient that the sender's address from in the secure electronic message does not match the sender's address provided in the sender's certificate indicating a possible email impersonation attack in which the sender may have used a forged public key.