Securus Systems Limited is proud to announce the filing for three provisional patents for technologies created for and used in SafeMessage.

1. The protocol and method for recipient validation and for determining the status of the message, including whether the message has been sent, received and opened.

2. The protocol and method for secured negotiated single-session encryption, including layered encryption methods.

3. A unique approach for the limited persistence of message data, regardless of archives or back-up copies.

These three areas are central to the security and guaranteed-status of a SafeMessage; they are part of what separates SafeMessage from other messaging and communications products.

Recipient and Status Verification.

The mechanism used to verify recipients and message status takes authentication to a whole new level. Current mechanisms assume that only the intended recipient is at their computer, and that once the message has left the sender's server, it has been delivered. SafeMessage provides much more thorough identity and status verification, including verification that the user is on an approved system, and that the user on the approved system is the correct user. SafeMessage can also verify that the user is actually at their system to receive the message, and automatically notifies the sender when the message has been displayed.

Negotiated Single-Session Encryption.

The security of encrypted electronic mail and other secured messaging systems has been questioned recently due to stories about Echelon, a system used to capture and read email. Echelon and similar mechanisms work even on encrypted and secured messages once the password or encryption key is broken, because the same key is used for all messages to a single user. The SafeMessage negotiation system changes that equation in two ways. First, messages are not persistent and do not go through an email server, so security is immediately much higher. Second, a breakthrough method for negotiating single-session encryption keys in a secured encrypted fashion has been developed. This allows the use of peer-reviewed encryption techniques while simultaneously solving their primary weakness.

Limited Persistence.

Leveraging the multiple layers of encryption, the combination of asymmetric and symmetric encryption algorhythms, and the central authentication server, this controlled-persistence mechanism provides expiration-enforcement without sacrificing or reducing data security. Unlike traditional persistence-enforcement systems which require the data be stored remotely, SafeMessage provides neither the message data nor sufficient key data to any external servers, including its own.