Patent ID: 8095797

Claim:
A method for authenticating an electronic message, performed by an authentication sever, comprising the steps of: receiving, at a predetermined time, a request to authenticate the electronic message, the request including a recipient electronic address and a hash value corresponding to the electronic message; creating an electronic postmark data structure for the electronic message, the electronic postmark data structure including time and date information and a value that uniquely identifies the electronic postmark data structure; generating a digital signature for the electronic postmark data structure; including the digital signature in the electronic postmark data structure; generating a public digital key for a recipient; exporting the public digital key to a key authenticator for authorizing; sending the electronic postmark data structure and the recipient electronic address to a recipient client for delivery to the recipient at the recipient electronic address; storing a copy of the electronic postmark data structure including the time and date information in a log file; and creating a digest of the log file.