Patent ID: 8793503

Claim:
A method for managing sequential access to secure content by a plurality of workflow participants, said method comprising: creating, by a processor, a key-map file for each of the plurality of workflow participants, each of the key-map files containing a subset of encryption and signature keys for the content, wherein the subset of the encryption and signature keys contained in each of the key-map files corresponds to a level of access granted to each of the respective plurality of workflow participants; sorting the key-map files in an order that is the reverse of a workflow order in which the workflow participants for which the key-map files were created are to access the secure content; creating an encrypted later wrap containing a later key-map file for a later workflow participant along the workflow order; creating an encrypted first wrap containing a prior key-map file for a prior workflow participant, a second encryption key, and the encrypted later wrap, wherein the encrypted later wrap contained in the encrypted first wrap is able to be decrypted after the encrypted first wrap has been decrypted, wherein the prior workflow participant is to access the secure content prior to the later workflow participant, wherein the prior workflow participant is to re-encrypt a decrypted secure content using the second encryption key, and wherein creating the encrypted later wrap further comprises creating the encrypted later wrap to also contain a decryption key to decrypt the re-encrypted secure content; and incorporating the encrypted first wrap into a document serialization for the content.