Location control and access control of emails

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10924459-B2
Application number	US-201715409161-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 18, 2017
Priority date	Dec 16, 2016
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

A sender device includes a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions and a location control policy, and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor executes the instructions to generate an email, generate a control mechanism for the email, wherein the control mechanism instructs a security server to implement the location control policy and wherein the location control policy affects a recipient device's use of the email, and integrate the control mechanism into the email to generate an integrated email. The sender device further includes a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the integrated email to the security server for the security server to implement the control mechanism.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sender device comprising:
a processor configured to:
generate an email;
generate a control mechanism for the email, the control mechanism instructs a security server to implement a location control policy that affects a recipient device's use of the email, the control mechanism comprises an invalidation number field, an allowed location field, and a maximum openings number field, the invalidation number field requires that the email be destroyed when an invalidation counter exceeds an invalidation number, the invalidation counter is based on a recipient identifier (ID) and increments when a universally unique identifier (UUID) is not in an encryption record table, the UUID uniquely identifies an encryption record of the email, and the recipient ID uniquely identifies an email account of a recipient of the recipient device;
integrate the control mechanism into the email to generate an integrated email; and
generate a recall request requesting that the security server instruct the recipient device to destroy the email, wherein the recall request comprises the UUID or a sender ID;
a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the integrated email to the security server for the security server to implement the control mechanism; and
a receiver coupled to the processor and configured to receive, from the security server and in response to the recall request, a destruction confirmation confirming that the recipient device destroyed the email.

2. The sender device of claim 1 , wherein the allowed location field requires that the recipient device be in an allowed location to open the email.

3. The sender device of claim 2 , wherein the allowed location indicates a building, a legally-defined geographical area, or a geographical area defined by a shape.

4. The sender device of claim 1 , wherein the maximum openings number field requires that the email be destroyed when the recipient device opens the email a number of times corresponding to a maximum openings number.

5. The sender device of claim 1 , wherein the invalidation counter is further based on a public key.

6. The sender device of claim 1 , wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the security server a receipt indicating that the security server successfully transmitted the email.

7. The sender device of claim 1 , wherein the recall request comprises the UUID and the sender ID.

8. A security server comprising:
a receiver configured to receive an email comprising a control mechanism, the
control mechanism instructs the security server to implement a location control policy that affects a recipient device's use of the email, the control mechanism comprises an invalidation number field requiring that the email be destroyed when an invalidation counter exceeds an invalidation number, the invalidation counter is based on a recipient identifier (ID) and increments when a universally unique identifier (UUID) is not in an encryption record table, the UUID uniquely identifies an encryption record of the email, and the recipient ID uniquely identifies an email account of a recipient of the recipient device;
a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to:
generate the encryption record;
generate a public key;
generate a private key;
encrypt the email using the public key and the private key to create an encrypted email; and
generate a destruction instruction in response to the recipient device not complying with the control mechanism;

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store the encryption record; and
a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to:
transmit the encrypted email and the public key to the recipient device: and
transmit the destruction instruction to the recipient device,

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a desruction confirmation from the recipient device in response to the destruction instruction.

9. The security server of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to destroy the email and the encrypted email after transmitting the encrypted email.

10. The security server of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to destroy the public key after transmitting the public key.

11. The security server of claim 8 , wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a validation request from the recipient device, and wherein the processor is further configured to perform a validation of the recipient device in response to the validation request.

12. The security server of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to generate a decryption instruction when the processor determines that the recipient device has complied with the control mechanism.

13. The security server of claim 8 , wherein the destruction instruction includes a predetermined destruction period.

14. A method implemented by a recipient device, the method comprising:
receiving an encrypted email comprising a control mechanism, the control mechanism implements a location control policy that affects location use or both location use and access use of the encrypted email by the recipient device, the control mechanism comprises an invalidation number field requiring that the encrypted email be destroyed when an invalidation counter exceeds an invalidation number, the invalidation counter is based on a recipient identifier (ID) and increments when a universally unique identifier (UUID) is not in an encryption record table, the UUID uniquely identifies an encryption record of the encrypted email, and the recipient ID uniquely identifies an email account of a recipient of the recipient device;
receiving a public key associated with the encrypted email;
transmitting a validation request comprising the recipient ID, the UUID, and an access location;
receiving a decryption instruction comprising a private key in response to the recipient device complying with the control mechanism;
receiving a first destruction instruction in response to the recipient device not complying with the control mechanism;
destroying the encrypted email and the public key in response to the first destruction instruction;
generating a destruction confirmation in response to the first destruction instruction; and
transmitting the destruction confirmation in response to the first destruction instruction.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising decrypting the encrypted email to create a decrypted email in response to the decryption instruction.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising receiving a second destruction instruction in response to a sender device requesting a recall of the encrypted email.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising destroying the encrypted email and the public key in response to the second destruction instruction.

18. The sender device of claim 7 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the recall request to the security server.

19. The security server of claim 12 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the decryption instruction and the private key to the recipient device.

20. The security server of claim 13 , wherein the security server is configured to disable an application in the recipient device responsible for opening the email when the security server does not receive the destruction confirmation from the recipient device by the predetermined destruction period.

Assignees

• Futurewei Technologies Inc

Inventors

• Lin Zongfang
• Tian Chen
• Yazdani Reza
• Zeng Yan
• Hu Ziang

Classifications

• H04L63/0227

  Filtering policies (mail message filtering H04L51/212) · CPC title

• H04L63/107

  wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals · CPC title

• H04L51/18

  Commands or executable codes · CPC title

• H04L63/0428 Primary

  wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload · CPC title

• H04L9/14

  using a plurality of keys or algorithms · CPC title