Patent ID: 8316233

Claim:
A method for accessing a secure electronic message, comprising: installing a software agent on a recipient's device; authenticating a sender of an electronic message; receiving the electronic message through a first secure connection, wherein the electronic message comprises any of text, audio, video, and file attachments, and wherein the electronic message further comprises recipient information and a defined authentication level for the recipient; storing the electronic message on a hosted server separate from a recipient of the electronic message; alerting the recipient that the electronic message is pending on the hosted server through the software agent; and authenticating the recipient responsive to the defined authentication level through the software agent, wherein the software agent performs the authenticating avoiding transmission or storage of a sender's biometric information; wherein authenticating the recipient comprises registering the recipient by capturing the recipient's biometric information and storing a corresponding generated private key in an authentication database associated with the hosted server, acquiring the recipient's biometric information at the recipient's device, creating a numerical index of the recipient's biometric information to form a corresponding generated public key at the recipient's device, securely at the hosted server, and authenticating the public key with the private key at the hosted server.