Abstract: A data management system and method are provided. Specifically, the present invention includes a system for controlling access to data and ensuring that the confidentiality of the data maintained. In addition, the present invention provides a system for updating data so that confidential data, which has become non-confidential, can be identified and exposed.

Abstract: A system and method for processing usage data within a local data processing system installed on a remote apparatus. The system comprises: a central server for receiving information from the remote apparatus, and processing the information to obtain a usage payment; and a local data processing system installed on the remote apparatus, having: a monitoring system for gathering usage data from the remote apparatus; a processor for managing the usage data; a communications system for communicating information from the processor to the central server; and a security system, wherein the security system includes an encryption system for securing information transmitted to the central server, and for securing information processed by the central server.

Abstract: A watermark in the form of an added message is attached to a digital recording so that a significant content of the recording is completely unchanged by the process in the sense that any reader commonly used for such recording will extract from the recording exactly what would have been extracted in the case the added message had not been attached. This is done by hiding the added message in the error correcting code (ECC) for the significant content of the recording.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: Calibrated dither masks adaptable to most printers are constructed in such a way that the threshold values can be adapted to a printer so that said printer can print the originally intended number of distinct tone levels. This adaptation can be done computationally so that the time it takes is not prohibitive. Furthermore, the resulting calibrated dither mask is such that there is no need for a tone reproduction curve in the halftoning process.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus to detect and reliably record the physical history of a product including effects due to one or more of the following: 1) product use 2) handling 3) tampering and 4) environment of the product (as changes in the environment, such as excessive temperatures, humidity, or shocks, can result in degradation to a product). The apparatus includes a “smart card”, or, more generally, “smart token”, in combination with one or more sensors which record the external influences on the product and/or the environment and records those changes in an encrypted form. This information can then be verified by any individual who is equipped with a (possibly public) decryption key, but capability to modify this information, depending on the application, is restricted to those with access to the encrypting key.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus to detect and reliably record the physical history of a product including effects due to one or more of the following: 1) product use 2) handling 3) tampering and 4) environment of the product (as changes in the environment, such as excessive temperatures, humidity, or shocks, can result in degradation to a product). The apparatus includes a “smart card”, or, more generally, “smart token”, in combination with one or more sensors which record the external influences on the product and/or the environment and records those changes in an encrypted form. This information can then be verified by any individual who is equipped with a (possibly public) decryption key, but capability to modify this information, depending on the application, is restricted to those with access to the encrypting key.

Abstract: An electronic exchange implemented over a network that processes a series of call auctions, wherein each call auction occurs at an end of a trading interval, thus allowing customers at disparate network locations to participate in a fair manner. The system comprises: a plurality of network nodes that communicate market information, wherein the market information includes orders submitted from market participants; a plurality of gateway agents that timestamp orders after they are submitted by the market participants to the network; and a market maker system that receives and executes orders over the network, wherein the market maker system determines if each order qualifies for the call auction at the end of a current trading interval by examining the timestamp for the order.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for providing secure electronic brokers are provided. The apparatus and methods make use of trading programs and their matching rules (and if needed some negotiation protocols) which allows the apparatus to communicate with customers using messaging middleware, thereby becoming an electronic broker or e-broker for the customers. The e-broker device publishes, using Pub/Sub messaging technology, for example, the type of trades it expects to broker. Potential users subscribe, using content based matching, to the types of trades they would like to make. Together with its advertising, the e-broker publishes the public part of its public encryption scheme. The user then sends it encrypted bids and the public part of its own public encryption scheme to the e-broker. When the users submit their identification, the e-broker device checks their overall quality (credit, reputation, etc.).

Abstract: A system and method for detecting parallel marketing of an item, include forming at least one of a coating and a code on the item, interrogating the at least one of the coating and said code, and determining from the interrogating whether the item has been transferred from an authorized merchant to an unauthorized merchant.

Abstract: A telephone answering system allows a recipient to spontaneously select a desired greeting after the phone has begun ringing to inform the caller that the call cannot be taken at this time and further providing an indication to either hold the line or when to expect a return call. A dedicated button is provided on the phone which, when pushed, selects a different greeting depending on the number of times the button is pushed. For example, if the recipient is interested in taking the call, but cannot at that particular instant, pressing the dedicated button one time will select a greeting like “Hold on a moment, I'll be right with you”. For n presses, the selected greeting might be “I'm sorry, I can't pick up the phone right now, but please leave your number and I'll call back in ((n-1)×10) minutes.” Knowing when they can expect a call back will increase the likelihood that the caller will make themselves available at the call back time and discourage phone tag.

Abstract: An apparatus and method allow to deposit ordinary checks from home or office. A special scanner is used to scan an endorsed check for deposit. The check may have printed thereon encryptions in at least selected locations. Scanning the endorsed check with the scanner to generates a digitized version of the check. The scanner virtually partitions the digitized version of the check into a plurality of regions. These regions may be stripes or zones. Each region is successively examined to extract from the digitized version of the check information from that region. The information extracted from a region is encrypted and transmitted to a bank. Upon acknowledgment from the bank, at least some of the regions of the plurality of regions voided by a form of indelible but non-invasive (e.g. allowing reading after voiding) marking such as punched holes, burned areas, overprinting of a pattern. The processing by the scanner continues until all regions have been processed.

Abstract: A system and method for maintaining customer privacy where an identity of the customer must be divulged. The invention includes separating data associated with the institution into a first database of private data and a second database of public data; storing an encrypted copy of the private data and an unencrypted copy of the public data with an intermediary service provider; providing to the customer a security system that allows the customer to decrypt the encrypted data and remain anonymous to the intermediary service provider; merging the encrypted copy of the private data and the unencrypted copy of the public data; and providing an interface that allows the customer to view the merged data.

Abstract: An apparatus and method allow to deposit ordinary checks from home or office. A special scanner is used to scan an endorsed check for deposit. The check may have printed thereon encryptions in at least selected locations. Scanning the endorsed check with the scanner to generates a digitized version of the check. The scanner virtually partitions the digitized version of the check into a plurality of regions. These regions may be stripes or zones. Each region is successively examined to extract from the digitized version of the check information from that region. The information extracted from a region is encrypted and transmitted to a bank. Upon acknowledgment from the bank, at least some of the regions of the plurality of regions voided by a form of indelible but non-invasive (e.g. allowing reading after voiding) marking such as punched holes, burned areas, overprinting of a pattern. The processing by the scanner continues until all regions have been processed.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: A form of paper checks, and the apparatus and method to handle them, allows deposit from home or office. The apparatus can be implemented with a Personal Computer (PC) having a secure cryptography generator (SCG) installed. The process of depositing paper checks begins by the payee endorsing a check having printed thereon encryptions in at least selected locations where information is written by a payer. The act of writing by the payee obscuring some of the encryptions. The payee then scans the endorsed check with a scanner to generate a digitized version of the check. The computer extracts from the digitized version of the check a concatenated branch number, account number and check number and a corresponding digital signature. The payee then transmits the extracted information together with the digitized version of the check for deposit. The checks a specially designed to prevent fraud such alteration of the payee, amount and multiple deposits.

Abstract: A system and method for authenticating an image of an object, include at least one identifier associated with the object, a receiver for interrogating the at least one identifier to produce identification information, a camera system for recording an image from the object including the at least one identifier, and a composite generator for encoding the identification information from the receiver along with the image acquired by the camera system, to produce composite data.

Abstract: An electronic event recorder for attachment to a vehicle is provided which can broadcast encrypted signature and data, thereby leaving behind an electronic version of a “fingerprint” in the event of an accident or traffic violation. The fingerprint, captured by an external data acquisition system or another vehicle so equipped, provides a history of events related to the vehicle. The event recorder is preferably integrated on a smart card and housed in a tamper proof casing. In a first mode of operation, monitoring stations along the roadways periodically send an interrogation signal, such as when radar detects that the vehicle is speeding. Upon receiving the interrogation signal the smart card transmits the vehicle's signature information to the monitoring station where it is time and date stamped along with the speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: A watermarking method involves mostly invisible artifacts and is sensitive to any modification of the picture at the level of precision rendered by the compressed version of the image. The image is compressed according to a known compression standard, such as the JPEG standard, and with a fixed quality setting. Using the JPEG standard, the original image is cut into blocks to which the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) is applied and the DCT coefficients quantized. The watermark according to the invention is applied to the quantized DCT coefficients. This is done using an encryption function, such as a secret key/public key algorithm. The JPEG compression is then completed using a lossless compression scheme, such as Huffman coding, to produce the compressed and watermarked image. Authentication of the compressed and watermarked image begins with a lossless decompression scheme to obtain the set of quantized DCT coefficients. The coefficients are authenticated, and the DCT output of each block is dequantized.

Abstract: A watermarking scheme which allows the watermarked image to be authenticated by an authentication agent without revealing the human-readable content of the image. There is disclosed an approach which combines privacy control with watermarking and authentication mechanisms. The watermark can be made to be imperceptible to humans. Public key cryptography allows the authentication agent to authenticate without being able to watermark an image.