Message-handling server and method for handling secure message attachments for a mobile device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9325647-B2
Application number	US-201314100994-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2013
Priority date	Mar 22, 2004
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

A secure message that includes an attachment is received at a server. The secure message may have a secure layer that indicates that the secure message is at least digitally signed. The secure message may be provided without the attachment to the mobile device over a wireless network. A request may be received from the mobile device to access the attachment. The request may include an attachment identifier (ID) that identifies the attachment in accordance with a message-attachment indexing system. In response to the request to access the attachment, the server may perform an index lookup to find the attachment based upon the attachment ID, may look through the secure layer of the secure message in order to locate the attachment within the secure message, and may render at least an initial portion of the attachment by the server in a format for viewing by the mobile device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a server for handling secure message attachments for a mobile device, the method comprising:
receiving a secure message that includes an attachment, the secure message having a secure layer that indicates that the secure message is digitally signed, wherein the attachment is also secured within the secure message, and wherein the secure message is structured according to a security scheme such that the secure message is handled as an attachment by the server;
storing the secure message with the first attachment comprised therein at the server;
generating a version of the secure message to send to the mobile device, the generating comprising
processing an encoding of the secure message to identify the attachment, and
removing the attachment from the secure message;

providing the generated version of the secure message, as an attachment, over a secure connection to the mobile device;
receiving a request to access the attachment from the mobile device;
retrieving the attachment based on the encoded secure message in response to receiving the request; and
after the attachment has been retrieved, providing the attachment to the mobile device over the secure connection.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the secure connection is a virtual-private network (VPN) connection.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
rendering the attachment by the server in a format for viewing by the mobile device for transmission over the secure connection.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein rendering comprises:
rendering an initial portion of the attachment by the server in the format for viewing by the mobile device for an initial transmission over the secure connection; and
rendering an additional portion of the attachment by the server in the format for viewing by the mobile device for subsequent transmission over the secure connection.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising selecting the format by the server to be compatible for viewing on the mobile device based on characteristics of the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the secure message comprises:
rendering an initial portion of the secure message by the server in the format for viewing by the mobile device for an initial transmission to the mobile device; and
rendering an additional portion of the secure message by the server in the format for viewing by the mobile device for subsequent transmission to the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the security scheme is a Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) scheme.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the attachment comprises at least one of a textual document, word processing document, audio file, image file, and video file.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the request includes an attachment identifier (ID) that identifies the attachment in accordance with a message-attachment indexing system, and
wherein the method includes the server performing an index lookup to find the attachment based upon the attachment ID.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secure message has a plurality of attachments, each having an attachment ID,
wherein the request includes one or more of the attachment IDs.

11. The server of claim 1 wherein the secure message has a plurality of attachments, each having an attachment ID,
wherein the request includes one or more of the attachment IDs.

12. A server arranged for handling secure message attachments for mobile devices, the server having network interface circuitry arranged to:
receive a secure message that includes attachment, the secure message having a secure layer that indicates that the secure message is digitally signed, wherein the attachment is also secured within the secure message, and wherein the secure message is structured according to a security scheme such that the secure message is handled as an attachment by the server;
store the secure message with the attachment comprised therein at the server;
generate a version of the secure message to send to the mobile device, the version of the secure messaging being generated by
processing an encoding of the secure message to identify the attachment, and
removing the attachment from the secure message;

provide the generated version of the secure message, as an attachment, over a secure connection to the mobile device;
receive a request to access the attachment from the mobile device;
retrieve the attachment based on the encoded secure message in response to receiving the request; and
after the attachment has been retrieved, provide the attachment to the mobile device over the secure connection in response to the request to access the attachment from the mobile device.

13. The server of claim 12 wherein the secure connection is a virtual-private network (VPN) connection.

14. The server of claim 13 further configured to:
render the attachment by the server in a format for viewing by the mobile device for transmission over the secure connection.

15. The server of claim 14 wherein to render the attachment, the server is configured to:
render an initial portion of the attachment in the format for viewing by the mobile device for an initial transmission over the secure connection; and
render an additional portion of the attachment in the format for viewing by the mobile device for subsequent transmission over the secure connection.

16. The server of claim 14 wherein the format is selected by the server to be compatible for viewing on the mobile device based on characteristics of the mobile device.

17. The server of claim 12 wherein to provide the secure message, the server is further configured to:
render an initial portion of the secure message in the format for viewing by the mobile device for an initial transmission to the mobile device; and
render an additional portion of the secure message in the format for viewing by the mobile device for subsequent transmission to the mobile device.

18. The server of claim 12 wherein the security scheme is a Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) scheme.

19. The server of claim 12 wherein the attachment comprises at least one of a textual document, word processing document, audio file, image file, and video file.

20. The server of claim 12 wherein the request includes an attachment identifier (ID) that identifies the attachment in accordance with a message-attachment indexing system, and
wherein the server is further arranged to perform an index lookup to find the attachment based upon the attachment ID.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by one or more processors of a server to perform operations for handling secure message attachments for mobile devices, the operations comprising:
receiving a secure message that includes attachment, the secure message having a secure layer that indicates that the secure message is digitally signed, wherein the attachment is also secured within the secure message, and wherein the secure message is structured according to a security scheme such that the secure message is handled as an attachment by the server;
processing an encoding of the secure message to identify the attachment;
removing the attachment from the secure message based on processing the encoding;
after the attachment has been removed, providing the secure message, as an attachment, over a secure connection to the mobile device;
providing an indication to

Assignees

• Blackberry Ltd

Inventors

• Brown Michael Kenneth
• Adams Neil Patrick
• Brown Michael Stephen

Classifications

• H04L63/0442

  wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30) · CPC title

• H04W12/10

  Integrity · CPC title

• H04L51/38

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L12/5895

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L63/123

  received data contents, e.g. message integrity · CPC title