Patent ID: 8219545

Claim:
An apparatus for authenticating data comprising: a processor; a tightly coupled housing; an authenticator in the tightly coupled housing; a first archival storage device in the tightly coupled housing; an indexer in the tightly coupled housing; and an index storage device in the tightly coupled housing, wherein the tightly coupled housing is unable to be opened, or otherwise accessed, without detection to prevent tampering with the authenticator, the first archival storage device, the indexer, the index storage device, or other elements housed therein, wherein the authenticator receives a file from an external email system and the authenticator creates first and second self-authenticating copies of the file, wherein each of the first and second self-authenticating copies of the file includes file data and an appended signature, the appended signature matching a recalculated signature generated from only the file data itself when verifying authenticity of the first or second self-authenticating copy of the file, wherein the first archival storage device stores the file data with the appended signature of the first self-authenticating file, wherein the indexer dissembles the second self-authenticating copy into components of the second self-authenticating copy, and wherein the index storage device stores the components of the second self-authenticating in a searchable format.