Patent ID: 7644268

Claim:
An automated encryption system for decrypting an encrypted electronic message from a sender to a recipient comprising: a computer readable medium in communications with a network port for accessing a set of public key data; and, a set of private key data embodied within said computer readable medium having a private key associated with the recipient; a set of computer readable key maintenance instructions embodied within said computer readable medium for creating a key pair having a public key and a private key associated with the recipient, storing said public key within the set of public key data via said network port, storing said private key within said set of private key data, and, deleting said key pair to prevent the recipient from decrypting messages so that an automated key management system is provided for automatically managing key pairs of recipients; and, a set of computer readable decryption instructions embodied within said computer readable medium for: receiving said encrypted electronic message from the sender to the recipient, retrieving said private key associated with the recipient from said set of private key data, decrypting said encrypted electronic message according to said private key, and, providing said encrypted electronic message to the recipient upon being decrypted so that the recipient automatically retrieves and decrypts said encrypted electronic encrypted message without providing said encryption system with any additional input.