Patent ID: 8156330

Claim:
A method for exchanging electronic business cards between a terminal and an external device connected via a communications network, the method comprising: storing a first pair of keys that consist of a first public key and a first secret key; storing a first electronic certificate that includes the first public key and components of an electronic business card; preparing, by the terminal, a first electronic business card that includes an attached digital signature using the components of the electronic business card and personal information stored within a personal information data store; retrieving, by the terminal, personal information from the personal information data store after receiving an instruction to transmit the first electronic business card; selecting a business card image that is stored apart from the personal information to create the first electronic business card; wherein the selected business card image is also used to create other business cards; generating the attached digital signature using personal information, and data within the body of the first electronic business card, and the first secret key after receiving the instruction to transmit the first electronic business card; converting the personal information to a personal information image; displaying the selected business card image and the personal information image on a display of the terminal; receiving a designation of a position on the display of the personal information image; creating the first business card by combining the selected business card image with the personal information that is placed on the business card image in response to the designation of the position; displaying the first business card on the display; storing the first business card; searching for the first electronic certificate; determining, by the terminal, a receiver to receive the first electronic business card; wherein determining the receiver includes obtaining an email address and a public key of the receiver; encrypting the first electronic business card using the public key of the receiver; transmitting the encrypted first electronic business card that includes the attached digital signature and the first electronic certificate; creating a correspondence record that includes a time and date of the transmission of the encrypted first electronic business card, an email address of the sender, and the email address of the receiver; storing the correspondence record; determining the security level of the first electronic certificate; proposing one or more methods for obtaining a new electronic certificate when the security level of the first electronic certificate does not satisfy a predetermined security level; receiving, from the external device, data and other electronic business cards encrypted using the first public key; and decrypting the encrypted data and other electronic business cards that have been received using the first secret key.