TW201349801A - E-mail searching method with privacy protection - Google Patents

Abstract

An e-mail searching method with privacy protection is suitable for a cloud computing environment which comprises a receiver device, a sender device and a cloud e-mail server. The searching method comprises: utilizing the sender device to receive the public key of the receiver device; the sender device processing the encryption operation to the e-mail based on the public key and a first searching condition and transmitting the encrypted e-mail to the cloud e-mail server; the receiver device generating a searching token based on the private key and a second searching condition and transmitting the searching token to the cloud e-mail server; and the cloud e-mail server searching the encrypted e-mail based on the searching token.

Description

Privacy-protected email search method

The present invention relates to a method for searching for an email, and more particularly to a method for searching for a privacy-protected email.

With the development of information technology, Internet communication has become one of the important communication tools between people. Among them, e-mail is the basic service of modern network communication. In view of the above, although e-mail has become the basic service of modern network communication, there are still some technologies for information confidentiality or information transmission that need to be improved or even replaced.

For example, in a traditional mail system, if you want to search for encrypted information, you must download all the information from the system database, and decrypt it before you can perform the search to prevent the attacker from stealing information. However, the actual environment (for example, the cloud computing environment) has a very large amount of data. It is unrealistic and not easy to download all the data.

Therefore, how to make the use of e-mail safer and more secure has become an important issue when e-mail involves personal privacy or other important information.

The invention provides a method for searching for emails with privacy protection.

The search method for privacy-protected e-mail is applicable to a cloud computing environment, and the cloud computing environment includes a receiving device, a sending device, and a cloud mail server. The searching method includes: receiving the receiving device by using the sending device Key; the sending device encrypts the email according to the public key and the first search condition, and transmits the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server; the receiving device generates the search right according to the private key and the second search condition To (token), and the search right is transmitted to the cloud mail server; the cloud mail server uses this search right to search for this email after the encrypted job.

According to the search method of the embodiment of the present invention, the search method further includes the step of: after searching for the email after the encrypted job, the cloud mail server transmits the email after the encrypted job to the receiving device and/or A Delegated device in a cloud computing environment, where the delegate device includes a cell phone or a computer.

The search method according to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the cloud computing environment further includes a time trigger to generate a time string and a time triggering right, and the searching method includes: the sending device is further based on the time string (time to be triggered) Encrypt the email and send the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server; the receiving device generates the search right according to the time triggering authority and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server; the cloud The mail server searches for this email after the encrypted job based on the search rights.

According to the search method of the embodiment of the present invention, the cloud computing environment further includes an event trigger to generate an event string and an event triggering right, and the searching method includes: the sending device is further based on the event string (the event to be triggered) Encrypt the email and send the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server; the receiving device triggers the event based on this event. Generate search rights and transfer search rights to the cloud mail server; the cloud mail server searches for this email after the encrypted job based on the search rights.

The search method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the first search condition includes a string.

The search method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the second search condition includes a string.

A search method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the receiving device comprises a mobile phone or a computer.

A search method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the sending device comprises a mobile phone or a computer.

One of the features of the embodiment of the present invention is that, except for the receiving device, any other device (including the cloud mail server) cannot know the content of the email encrypted and stored in the cloud mail server, and the receiving device The search right may be generated according to the private key and the second search condition, and the cloud mail server searches for the email after the encrypted job according to the search right. In this way, after the email is encrypted, the receiving device can still find the email after the encrypted job from the cloud mail server.

The above described objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent from the aspects of the invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cloud computing environment used by a method for searching for a privacy-protected email according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for searching for an email with privacy protection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The search method for the privacy-protected e-mail (hereinafter referred to as the search method) is applied to the cloud computing environment 1, and the cloud computing environment 1 includes the receiving device 10, the sending device 11, and the cloud mail server 12.

The searching method includes the following steps: receiving, by the sending device, a public key of the receiving device (step S100); the sending device encrypts the email according to the public key and the first search condition, and transmits the encrypted email to the email a cloud mail server (step S110); the receiving device generates a search right according to the private key and the second search condition, and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server (step S120); the cloud mail server according to the search right The email after the encryption job is searched (step S130).

In detail, when the sending device 11 wants to transmit the encrypted email M to the receiving device 10, and the receiving device 10 wants to search the encrypted email M from the cloud mail server 12, the following steps can be performed. In step S100, the public key (Public Key) 100 transmitted by the receiving device 10 can be received in advance by the sending device 11. Here, with the public key 100, the sending device 11 can perform an encryption operation on the electronic mail; on the other hand, the receiving device 10 has a private key (Private Key) capable of decrypting the public key 100.

Next, in step S110: the sending device 11 can pair an electronic with the first search condition according to the public key 100. The mail is encrypted, and the email M after the encrypted job is transmitted to the cloud mail server 12, so that the email M after the encryption job is stored in the cloud mail server 12. The first search condition includes a string. This string may be a keyword such as a person, a thing, a time, a place, or an object related to the delivery device 11.

In step S120, the receiving device 10 generates a search token 101 according to the private key and the second search condition, and transmits the search right 101 to the cloud mail server 12. The search right 101 is generated by a weight generator of the receiving device 10; the second search condition includes a string. This string can be a keyword for people, things, time, place, and things. For example, the second search condition may be a related keyword corresponding to the sending device 11; or the second search condition may be a related keyword to be searched by the receiving device 10 for the email M after the encrypted job.

In step S130, the cloud mail server 12 searches for the email M after the encryption operation based on the search right 101 transmitted by the receiving device 10.

In detail, the search method further includes the step of: after searching for the email after the encrypted job, the cloud mail server transmits the encrypted email to the receiving device (step S140).

In step S140, after the cloud mail server 12 searches for the email M after the encryption operation according to the search right 101, the cloud mail server 12 transmits the email M after the encryption operation to the receiving device 10. .

It can be seen that after the email is encrypted and becomes the ciphertext state, the receiving device 10 can still use the cloud mail server 12 to find the email M after the encryption operation.

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a cloud computing environment used by a privacy-protected email search method according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A is a diagram of a privacy-protected email search according to another embodiment of the present invention; Flow chart of the method.

As shown in FIG. 3, the difference between this embodiment and the above embodiment is that the cloud computing environment 1 further includes the delegation device 13 and the trigger 14.

The delegating device 13 and the receiving device 10 are in communication with each other, and the delegating device 13 can serve as an assistant role of the receiving device 10; the trigger 14 is configured to generate a string 140 and a triggering token (wherein the string 140 The trigger token can be the correspondence between encryption and decryption). In this embodiment, the trigger 14 is exemplified by a time trigger for generating a time string and a time triggering weight.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the searching method includes: the sending device further encrypts the email according to the time string, and transmits the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server (step S210); the receiving device is more time-dependent. The triggering authority generates a search right and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server (step S220); the cloud mail server searches for the email after the encrypted job according to the search right (step S230).

In step S210, the sending device 11 encrypts the email according to the public key 100, the time string (the time to be triggered) and the first search condition. And the email M after the encrypted job is transmitted to the cloud mail server 12.

It can be seen that the difference between step S210 and step S110 is that the sending device 11 further encrypts the email according to the time string, and transmits the encrypted email M to the cloud mail server 12.

Specifically, the sending device 11 can further specify a specific time (for example, year, month, day, hour, minute, etc.) according to the time string, and the receiving device 10 can perform the email after the encrypted job. M searches or decrypts.

In step S220, the receiving device 10 generates the search right 101 according to the private key, the time triggering right and the second search condition, and transmits the search right 101 to the cloud mail server 12.

In the above, the receiving device 10 can temporarily generate the search right 101 according to the private key and the second search condition and transmit the search right 101 to the cloud mail server 12 at this specific time.

In step S230, the cloud mail server 12 searches for the email M after the encryption job according to the search right 101.

In detail, the search method may further include the step of: after searching for the email M after the encrypted job, the cloud mail server 12 transmits the encrypted email M to the receiving device 10 or the delegation device 13. Among them, if the receiving device 10 fails to receive the mail from the cloud The email transmitted by the server 12 can still be used by the dispatching device 13 to assist the receiving device 10 to receive the email M after the encrypted job to prevent the receiving device 10 from missing the email.

Please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4B simultaneously. FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a method for searching for an email with privacy protection according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flip-flop 14 is used to generate a string 140 and a trigger token. In this embodiment, the trigger 14 takes an event trigger as an example, and the event trigger is used to generate an event string and an event triggering weight.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the searching method includes: the sending device further encrypts the email according to the event string, and transmits the encrypted email to the cloud mail server (step S310); the receiving device is further based on the event. The triggering authority generates a search right and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server (step S320); the cloud mail server searches for the email after the encrypted job according to the search right (step S330).

In step S310, the sending device 11 encrypts the email according to the public key 100, the event string (the event to be triggered) and the first search condition, and transmits the encrypted email M to the cloud mail server. .

It can be seen that the difference between step S310 and step S110 is that the sending device 11 further encrypts the email according to the event string, and transmits the encrypted email M to the cloud mail server 12.

Specifically, the sending device 11 can further specify that after the occurrence of a specific event, the receiving device 10 can search or decrypt the email M after the encrypted job.

In step S320, the receiving device 10 generates the search right 101 according to the private key, the event triggering right and the second search condition, and transmits the search right 101 to the cloud mail server 12.

In the above, the receiving device 10 can generate the search right 101 according to the private key and the second search condition after the specific event occurs, and transmit the search right 101 to the cloud mail server 12.

In step S330, the cloud mail server 12 searches for the email M after the encryption job according to the search right 101.

In detail, the search method may further include the step of: after searching for the email M after the encrypted job, the cloud mail server 12 transmits the encrypted email M to the receiving device 10 or the delegation device 13. If the receiving device 10 fails to receive the email transmitted by the cloud mail server 12, the dispatching device 13 can still assist the receiving device 10 to receive the email M after the encrypted operation to prevent the receiving device 10 from being missed. This email M.

Further, the receiving device 10, the sending device 11, or the delegation device 13 in the cloud computing environment may be a mobile device or a mobile device such as a computer, but is not limited thereto.

The search method for the privacy protected email according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following characteristics:

1. Any device other than the receiving device (or delegate device) (including the cloud) The mail server cannot know the content of the email encrypted and stored in the cloud mail server, and the receiving device can generate the search right according to the private key and the second search condition, and the search service is based on the cloud mail server.仗Search for this email after the encrypted job. In this way, after the email is encrypted, the receiving device can still find the email after the encrypted job from the cloud mail server.

2. When the receiving device searches for the encrypted email according to the second search condition, the cloud mail server can correctly find the encrypted mail that meets the condition without knowing the search condition or the keyword.

3. Using the time triggering right, the receiving device can search or decrypt the encrypted email after a certain time.

4. Using the event triggering authority, the receiving device can search or decrypt the encrypted email after a specific event occurs.

In summary, the present invention is only described as a preferred embodiment or embodiment of the technical means for solving the problem, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. That is, the equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application of the present invention or the scope of the invention are covered by the scope of the invention.

1‧‧‧Cloud computing environment

10‧‧‧ Receiving device

100‧‧‧ public key

101‧‧ Search rights

11‧‧‧Send device

12‧‧‧Cloud Mail Server

13‧‧‧Delegation device

14‧‧‧ Trigger

140‧‧‧ string

M‧‧‧Email

S100~S140; S210~S230; S310~S330‧‧‧ steps

1 is a schematic diagram of a cloud computing environment used by a privacy-protected email search method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a privacy-protected email search method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a cloud computing environment for a privacy-protected email search method according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a privacy-protected email search method according to another embodiment of the present invention; 4B is a flowchart of a method for searching for a privacy-protected email according to another embodiment of the present invention.

S100~S140‧‧‧Steps

Claims (10)

A search method for privacy-protected e-mail is applicable to a cloud computing environment, where the cloud computing environment includes a receiving device, a sending device, and a cloud mail server, and the searching method includes: receiving, by using the sending device a public key of the receiving device; the sending device performs an encryption operation on an email according to the public key and a first search condition, and transmits the email after the encrypted job to a cloud mail server; The receiving device generates a search right according to a private key and a second search condition, and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server; and the cloud mail server searches for the encrypted job according to the search right After the email. The method for searching for a privacy-protected email according to claim 1, wherein the searching method further comprises the step of: after searching for the email after the encrypted job, the cloud mail server encrypts the email The subsequent email is sent to the receiving device. The method for searching for a privacy-protected email according to claim 2, wherein the cloud computing environment further includes a delegation device, and the cloud mail server further transmits the email after the encrypted job to the delegation device. . Search for a privacy-protected email as described in item 1 of the patent application The searching method, wherein the cloud computing environment further includes a time trigger to generate a time string and a time triggering function, the searching method includes: the sending device further performing the encrypting operation on the email according to the time string Transmitting the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server; the receiving device further generates the search right according to the time triggering right, and transmits the search right to the cloud mail server; The cloud mail server searches for the email after the encrypted job according to the search right. The method for searching for a privacy-protected email according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein the cloud computing environment further includes an event trigger to generate an event string and an event triggering right, the searching method includes: sending The party device further performs the encryption operation on the email according to the event string, and transmits the email after the encrypted job to the cloud mail server; the receiving device further generates the search right according to the event triggering authority. And transmitting the search right to the cloud mail server; and the cloud mail server searches for the email after the encrypted job according to the search right. The method for searching for a privacy-protected email as described in claim 1, wherein the first search condition includes a string. The method for searching for a privacy-protected email as described in claim 1, wherein the second search condition includes a string. The method for searching for a privacy-protected e-mail as described in claim 1, wherein the receiving device comprises a mobile phone or a computer. The method for searching for a privacy-protected e-mail as described in claim 1, wherein the delivery device comprises a mobile phone or a computer. The method for searching for a privacy-protected e-mail as described in claim 3, wherein the delegating device comprises a mobile phone or a computer.