TWI732599B - System for validating e-mail integrity by inserting a media file - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for validating e-mail integrity by inserting a media file includes a sending-information database and a verification server. The verification server includes a network module, a recording module and a media-generating module. The network module receives an information-storing request from a sending end and a file-outputting request form a receiving end. The recording module obtains mail information from the information-storing request, stores sending information in the sending-information database and replies an index code to the sending end. Accordingly, the sending end inserts the index code into a mail to be sent and the receiving end outputs the file-outputting request with the index code as loading the mail. The media-generating module queries the sending-information database according to the index code to acquire the sending information and generates a media file according to the sending information for the receiving end to execute.

Description

System to verify the authenticity of e-mails through embedded media files

The present invention relates to an electronic letter verification technology, in particular to a system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through implanted media files.

The Internet has become a common method of communication in modern times, especially e-mail has been a widely used contact method for business exchanges. Therefore, unscrupulous elements will alter the content of emails to defraud unsuspecting users of sensitive information (such as passwords, credit card information, etc.), or even trick remittances.

To this end, some Internet service providers provide software that users can use when sending and receiving letters to provide reliable e-mail services. However, if users want to use it, they need to install the corresponding software (such as applications or extensions), even if they are only the recipients. In other words, if the recipient uses a device that does not support the corresponding software to browse e-mail, the service cannot be used.

In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention proposes a system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an embedded media file, which includes a mailing information database and a verification server. The authentication server includes a network module, a recording module, and a media generation module.

The network module is used to connect to a network to receive an information storage request from a sender and a file output request from a receiver, wherein the information storage request includes letter information related to an electronic letter to be sent .

The record module retrieves the letter information from the information storage request and saves a piece of mailing information to the mailing information database, and responds to the sender with an index code corresponding to the mailing information via the network module for the sender The index code is embedded in the electronic letter to be sent, so that the receiving end can issue a file output request containing the index code embedded in a received electronic letter.

The media generation module retrieves the index code from the file output request to obtain the shipping information corresponding to the index code from the shipping information database, and generates a media file based on the shipping information, and responds to the media file to the receiver via the network module. The message terminal is for the receiving terminal to execute the media file.

According to the system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an implanted media file proposed in the present invention, any receiving terminal can be used by the recipient, and a media file that can be used to identify the authenticity of the electronic letter can be presented in the received electronic letter. No need to install the corresponding software separately. In addition, media files can increase the difficulty of forging e-mails and improve the security of the recipient's behavior.

1, which is a schematic diagram of a system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an embedded media file according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system for verifying the authenticity of e-mails through embedded media files includes a mailing information database 100 and a verification server 200. The shipping information database 100 can be implemented by a single host or a regional or distributed computer cluster. In some embodiments, the mailing information database 100 may be a blockchain, and the authenticity of the data stored in the blockchain can be guaranteed through the non-tampering feature of the blockchain. In some embodiments, the shipping information database 100 can be integrated with the verification server 200. The authentication server 200 can be implemented by a single server host or a regional or distributed computer cluster. The verification server 200 is connected to the network 500 for at least one sender 300 and at least one receiver 400 to connect. The sender 300 and the receiver 400 can be implemented by computing devices that have the ability to connect to the Internet and can receive emails, such as smart phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, and so on.

Although FIG. 1 does not show that the mailing information database 100 is connected to the network 500. However, in some embodiments, the verification server 200 can also be connected to the mailing information database 100 via the network 500. In other words, in some embodiments, the verification server 200 may also be connected to the mailing information database 100 without going through the network 500.

The verification server 200 includes a network module 210, a recording module 220, and a media generation module 230. The network module 210 provides a network connection function to connect to the network 500. Thereby, the verification server 200 can receive the request sent from the sender 300 and the receiver 400 via the network module 210, and can feed back corresponding data according to the request. The recording module 220 can provide data to be written into the shipping information database 100. The media generating module 230 is used for generating media files.

In some embodiments, the verification server 200 further includes an information output module 240. The information output module 240 is used for outputting the data queried from the shipping information database 100.

The verification server 200 has hardware components such as a processor, a memory, a storage medium (such as a hard disk, a solid state disk, etc.), and a network interface. The storage medium stores an operating system, application programs, etc., which can be loaded and executed by the processor, and cooperates with the corresponding hardware components to realize the aforementioned many modules.

Refer to Figure 2, which is a flow chart of verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S21, the sender 300 sends an information storage request. As shown in FIG. 3, it is a schematic diagram of the letter editing screen of the sender 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The edit window 600 allows the sender to edit the content of the letter, such as the sender's name, the sender's mailbox, the recipient's name, the recipient's mailbox, the subject of the letter, and the content of the letter. After the sender has finished editing, he can select the "General Send" button 610, which provides a simple mailing function to directly send the finished letter (ie "email to be sent") to the sending server, which will be sent by the sending server The device completes the sending of the letter. It should be noted here that the sender can also choose the "Secure Delivery" button 620. In addition to the aforementioned "General Delivery" shipping function, the sender will also send the e-mail to be sent to the sender. The server previously sent an information saving request to the verification server 200. Here, the information preservation request will include the letter information associated with the e-mail to be sent.

In some embodiments, the letter information in the information preservation request includes, but is not limited to, the subject of the letter, the sender’s sender’s mailbox, the sender’s name, the content of the letter, the sender’s time zone, the sender’s language, and other related information. At least one of.

2, in step S22, in response to receiving the information storage request, the recording module 220 of the verification server 200 retrieves the letter information from the information storage request, and stores a piece of mailing information to the mailing information database 100. Here, at least a part of the mailing information is associated with at least a part of the letter information (that is, the same or corresponding). In other words, all or part of the letter information is directly or converted as the sending information; or all or part of the letter information is directly or converted as part of the sending information (that is, adding other non-derived The other information of the information is regarded as another part of the shipping information). For example, the additional information may be a timestamp generated by the current verification server 200, and the timestamp may be used as a reference sending time. Because in this step, the letter has not been sent, so the reference sending time is not the actual sending time. However, under normal circumstances, there is only a slight error (for example, tens of seconds) between the reference mailing time and the actual mailing time.

The shipping information stored in the shipping information database 100 can be searched by an index code. The index code can be understood as the storage location of the corresponding shipping information stored in the shipping information database 100. In some embodiments, the index code may be a hash value, which may be generated through a hash function based on at least a part of the mail information or based on at least a part of the mailing information. The index code can be generated by the shipping information database 100 or the verification server 200.

As shown in FIG. 2, in step S23, the verification server 200 returns the index code to the sender 300. In this way, the sender 300 can embed the index code into the electronic letter to be sent, and send the electronic letter (step S24). In some embodiments, the way to embed the index code is to add a URL containing the index code in the body of the letter, and the URL points to the verification server 200. After receiving and opening the e-mail (hereinafter referred to as "received e-mail"), the receiving terminal 400 can read the URL and send a link request to the verification server 200. This link request is equivalent to a file output request. Therefore, in step S25, the receiving terminal 400 can send to the verification server 200 a file output request including the index code implanted in the received electronic letter.

The media generation module 230 of the verification server 200 responds to the file output request received from the receiving end 400 and retrieves the index code from the file output request to query the verification server 200 for the corresponding shipping information (step S26). After obtaining the shipping information corresponding to the index code from the shipping information database 100, the media generating module 230 generates a media file based on the shipping information, and replies the media file to the receiving terminal 400 via the network module 210 (step S27). Therefore, the receiving terminal 400 executes the media file in response to receiving the media file.

In some embodiments, the media file can be an image file, a video file, or an audio file. Here, an illustration is taken as an example. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a letter reading screen of the receiving terminal 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition to displaying the content of the letter, the viewing window 700 displays the image 710 after receiving the media file (here, the image 710) from the verification server 200. The body of the letter contains a header and a body. The letter header includes the sender (From), recipient (To) and the subject of the letter (Subject). The body contains the text of the letter and attachment files.

The playback content of the media file contains at least a part of the mailing information, so that the recipient can compare the playback content of the media file with the body of the received e-mail. If the received e-mail is forged, it will be detected because of the difference between the contents of the two.

In some embodiments, the playback content of the media file can be, for example, but not limited to, the name of the sender, the mailbox of the sender, the subject of the letter, the sending time, the content of the letter, the sending server, the Internet of the sender 300 At least one of the agreed addresses. The content of the broadcasted letter may be all or part of the content of the letter.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is a schematic diagram of media file playback according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen that the picture 710 presents the subject of the letter and the name of the sender. In addition, the picture 710 also presents the "open time of this time" and the "time to send the letter." The opening time of this time is between the current time when the verification server 200 receives the file output request (after step S21) and the current time when the verification server 200 generates the media file (before step S27). That is to say, between step S21 and step S27, the verification server 200 generates a time stamp as the current opening time, and adds the current opening time to the playback content of the media file. The time to send the letter refers to the length of time between when the e-letter is sent and when the e-letter is read. The shipping information stored in the shipping information database 100 includes a shipping time (that is, the aforementioned reference shipping time). The media generation module 230 of the verification server 200 can obtain the time of sending the letter according to the reference mailing time and the current letter opening time (ie, the time difference between the current letter opening time and the reference mailing time). Accordingly, the media generation module 230 can add the time of sending the message to the playback content of the media file.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned reference shipping time is a timestamp obtained by the sender 300 at the moment when the information storage request (step S21) is issued. The issue of the information preservation request now refers to a certain time point within a period of hundreds of milliseconds or a few seconds before the information preservation request is issued. Accordingly, the verification server 200 can retrieve the timestamp (that is, refer to the shipping time) from the received information storage request and store it in the shipping information database 100.

In some embodiments, the verification server 200 identifies a degree of timeliness according to the time of sending a message from the distance, and according to the degree of timeliness, places the time of sending a message in the playback content of the media file in one of a plurality of ways with a perceptible difference in the senses. in. Specifically, the aging degree can be divided into multiple degrees (or intervals) according to multiple thresholds, such as: short-term degree interval, intermediate degree interval, long-term degree interval, and so on. For example, within 24 hours, the distance from sending a message is classified as a short-term interval, within 24 to 48 hours from the sending time is classified as an intermediate interval, and a distance from the sending time of more than 48 hours is classified as a long-term interval. Degree interval. The manner in which the sensory organs can detect the difference, here is an example of the manner in which the difference is detectable by the vision. For example, different intervals are distinguished by different font colors, font background colors, font sizes, outer frame shapes, outer frame background colors, and outer frame colors. For example, corresponding to different intervals, different font colors are displayed. This allows the recipient to know the distance to the sending time directly based on the playback content of the media file. According to this, the recipient can distinguish whether the e-mail is abnormal (for example, it is forged) according to whether the distance from the sending time is normal. For example, if an e-mail is forged, the mailing time shown on the forged e-mail will be significantly different from the aforementioned reference mailing time. For example, the mailing time shown on the forged e-mail is 5 minutes ago. , However, it is more than 12 hours before sending the letter, so the recipient can notice that the received e-mail is abnormal. In other words, under normal circumstances, when the recipient reads the letter at different times, the distance sending time (or the current letter opening time) in the playback content of the media file should vary with the time each time the letter is read. change. If, regardless of whether the letter is read at any time, the playback content of the media file is the same, then the recipient can recognize that the letter is abnormal. On the other hand, the degree of timeliness can also be used as a reminder, allowing the recipient to notice whether there are any unprocessed e-mails.

In some embodiments, the sensory-perceivable difference may be aurally perceivable. For example, in an embodiment of a media file that is an audio file, different sound effects can be inserted corresponding to different intervals.

Refer to FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of media file playback according to another embodiment of the present invention. Here, the media file is picture 720. The playback content of the media file may include the "last open time". The previous open time refers to the point in time when the e-mail read this time was opened and read last time. The verification server 200 can store the aforementioned current letter opening time in the mailing information database 100, and in response to the need to generate the media file again, retrieve the stored current letter opening time from the mailing information database 100 as the previous The time of the next letter opening, and the previous letter opening time is further added to the playback content of the media file. In this way, the recipient can know whether the e-mail has been opened without consent according to the previous opening time. On the other hand, the playback content of the media file may also include the number of times the letter has been opened and read, which also allows the recipient to know whether the e-mail has been opened without consent.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is a schematic diagram showing the sending information according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information output module 240 can output at least a part of the shipping information retrieved from the shipping information database 100 to the receiving terminal 400 in response to an information viewing request of the receiving terminal 400. Specifically, the recipient can trigger an information viewing request based on the media file. For example, the recipient clicks on a media file with a hyperlink to generate a web page link request (information viewing request). The information output module 240 is a web page module that outputs at least a part of the mailing information in the form of a web page. Here, the mailing information presented on the webpage 800 includes, for example, but not limited to, the mailing time (refer to the mailing time), the subject of the letter, the sender, and the content of the letter (letter content).

In some embodiments, the information saving request, file output request, information viewing request, index code or media file can be divided into multiple messages and transmitted in batches.

According to the system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an implanted media file according to the present invention, any receiving terminal 400 can be used by the recipient and can present a media file that can be used to identify the authenticity of the electronic letter in the received electronic letter. , No need to install the corresponding software separately. In addition, media files can increase the difficulty of forging e-mails and improve the security of the recipient's behavior.

100: Shipping information database 200: Verify server 210: Network Module 220: record module 230: media generation module 240: Information output module 300: sender 400: Receiver 500: Internet 600: Edit window 610,620: Button 700: Viewing window 710,720: pictures 800: web page S21~S27: steps

[Figure 1] is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an embedded media file according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] is a flow chart of verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 3] is a schematic diagram of the letter editing screen of the sender according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 4] is a schematic diagram of a letter reading screen of the receiving terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] is a schematic diagram of media file playback according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] is a schematic diagram of media file playback according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Fig. 7] is a schematic diagram showing the sending information of an embodiment of the present invention.

100: Shipping information database

200: Verify server

210: Network Module

220: record module

230: media generation module

240: Information output module

300: sender

400: Receiver

500: Internet

Claims (8)

A system for verifying the authenticity of electronic letters through embedded media files, including: a sending information database; and a verification server, including: a network module for connecting to a network for receiving and sending a message An information storage request and a file output request at the receiving end, where the information storage request includes a piece of letter information associated with an electronic letter to be sent; a recording module that retrieves the letter information from the information storage request and Save a piece of mailing information to the mailing information database, and reply an index code corresponding to the mailing information to the sender via the network module, so that the sender can embed the index code The to-be-sent electronic letter sent to the receiving terminal causes the receiving terminal to send the file output request including the index code in response to opening a received electronic letter embedded with the index code; and a media generation The module retrieves the index code from the file output request to obtain the mailing information corresponding to the index code from the mailing information database, and generates a media file based on the mailing information. The group replies the media file to the receiving end for the receiving end to execute the media file. The playback content of the media file includes a current letter opening time or a distance sending time. The current letter opening time is introduced Between the current time when the verification server receives the file output request and the current time when the verification server generates the media file, the distance sending time is the current open time and the sending information contained in the sending information. The time difference between the pieces of time. The system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an implanted media file as described in claim 1, wherein the playback content of the media file includes at least a part of the sending information. The system for verifying the authenticity of an e-letter through an embedded media file as described in claim 1, wherein the verification server also stores the current opening time in the mailing information database, and responds to regenerating the media file If necessary, retrieve the stored current letter opening time from the mailing information database as a previous letter opening time, and further add the previous letter opening time to the playback content of the media file. The system for verifying the authenticity of an e-letter through an implanted media file as described in claim 1, wherein the verification server recognizes a timeliness level according to the distance sending time, and uses different visual presentation methods or different auditory perceptions according to the difference in the timeliness level The presentation mode places the distance sending time in the playback content of the media file. The system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an embedded media file as described in claim 1, wherein the index code is generated based on at least a part of the letter information or based on at least a part of the mailing information. The system for verifying the authenticity of an e-letter through an implanted media file as described in claim 1, wherein the verification server further includes an information output module, in response to an information viewing request of the receiving end, output from the sender At least a part of the mailing information retrieved from the information database is sent to the receiving end. The system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an embedded media file as described in claim 6, wherein the information output module is a web page module, and at least a part of the mailing information is output in the form of a web page. The system for verifying the authenticity of an electronic letter through an implanted media file as described in claim 1, wherein the media file is an image file, a video file, or an audio file.

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