Abstract: Personalization images are included in email messages to combat phishing attacks in which an attacker attempts to trick a user into divulging sensitive information over the Internet. When a recipient of an email message receives a message, the recipient can visually inspect the personalization image in the message. If the personalization image is missing or if the personalization image is not valid, the email recipient is alerted to the possibility of a phishing attack. Email message content may be encrypted. A gateway associated with an email message sender may be used to perform encryption operations on the message content. The gateway may create an html version of the email by placing the encrypted message content in an html wrapper. An image reference corresponding to the personalization image may be embedded in the html version of the message.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing email are provided. Some of the email may be encrypted using identity-based-encryption (IBE) techniques. When an incoming IBE-encrypted message for a recipient in an organization is received by a gateway at the organization, the gateway may request an IBE private key from an IBE private key generator. The IBE private key generator may generate the requested IBE private key for the gateway. The gateway may use an IBE decryption engine to decrypt the incoming message. The decrypted message can be scanned for viruses and spam and delivered to the recipient. Outgoing email messages can also be processed. If indicated by message attributes or information provided by a message sender, an outgoing message can be encrypted using an IBE encryption engine and the IBE public key of a desired recipient.

Abstract: A system is provided that uses identity-based encryption to support secure communications between senders and recipients over a communications network. Private key generators are used to provide public parameter information. Senders encrypt messages for recipients using public keys based on recipient identities and using the public parameter information as inputs to an identity-based encryption algorithm. Recipients use private keys to decrypt the messages. There may be multiple private key generators in the system and a given recipient may have multiple private keys. Senders can include private key identifying information in the messages they send to recipients. The private key identifying information may be used by the recipients to determine which of their private keys to use in decrypting a message. Recipients may obtain the correct private key to use to decrypt a message from a local database of private keys or from an appropriate private key server.

Abstract: A URL verification service is provided that is used to evaluate the trustworthiness of universal resource locators (URLs). As a user browses the world wide web, the URL for a web page to which the user is browsing is evaluated. A brand and a second level domain portion may be extracted from the URL and used as search engine inputs in evaluating the trustworthiness of the URL. The content of the web page can also be analyzed. Page elements may be extracted from the web page and compared to page elements in a brand indicator table to identify page brands associated with the web page. The brand extracted from the URL is compared to the page brands to detect cross-branding. If cross-branding is detected, the URL verification service helps to prevent the user from submitting sensitive information over the internet.

Abstract: Cryptographic systems and methods are provided in which authentication operations, digital signature operations, and encryption operations may be performed. Authentication operations may be performed using authentication information. The authentication information may be constructed using a symmetric authentication key or a public/private pair of authentication keys. Users may digitally sign data using private signing keys. Corresponding public signing keys may be used to verify user signatures. Identity-based-encryption (IBE) arrangements may be used for encrypting messages using the identity of a recipient. IBE-encrypted messages may be decrypted using appropriate IBE private keys. A smart card, universal serial bus key, or other security device having a tamper-proof enclosure may use the authentication information to obtain secret key information. Information such as IBE private key information, private signature key information, and authentication information may be stored in the tamper-proof enclosure.

Abstract: Systems and methods for managing email are provided. Some of the email may be encrypted using identity-based-encryption (IBE) techniques. When an incoming IBE-encrypted message for a recipient in an organization is received by a gateway at the organization, the gateway may request an IBE private key from an IBE private key generator. The IBE private key generator may generate the requested IBE private key for the gateway. The gateway may use an IBE decryption engine to decrypt the incoming message. The decrypted message can be scanned for viruses and spam and delivered to the recipient. Outgoing email messages can also be processed. If indicated by message attributes or information provided by a message sender, an outgoing message can be encrypted using an IBE encryption engine and the IBE public key of a desired recipient.

Abstract: A system may include a point-of-sale system that gathers payment card track data from a payment card and a payment card gateway that processes the track data to authorize purchase transactions. The point-of-sale system may remove sensitive data such as a portion of a primary account number from the track data and may compress the removed data. The compressed version of the data may be appended to a discretionary field in the track data. The discretionary field may be encrypted following insertion of the compressed data. Track data that has been modified in this way may be conveyed to the payment gateway for processing.

Abstract: A system is provided that allows encrypted content to be distributed to users over a communications network. A policy enforcement service may use an identity-based encryption algorithm to generate public parameter information and private keys. Data content may be encrypted prior to distribution using an identity-based encryption engine. The encryption engine may use the public parameter information from the policy service and public key information to encrypt the data. The public key information may be based on policy information that specifies which types of users are allowed to access the data that is encrypted using that public key. A user may obtain a private key for unlocking particular encrypted data by providing a key request to the policy enforcement service that contains the public key. The policy enforcement service may enforce the policies given by the policy information and may provide private keys only to authorized users.

Abstract: A system is provided that uses identity-based encryption (IBE) to allow a sender to securely convey information in a message to a recipient over a communications network. IBE public key information may be used to encrypt messages and corresponding IBE private key information may be used to decrypt messages. Information on which IBE public key information was used in encrypting a given message may be provided to the message recipient with the message. Multiple IBE public keys may be used to encrypt a single message. A less sensitive IBE public key may be used to encrypt a more sensitive public key, so that the more sensitive public key can remain hidden as it is sent to the recipient.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for securing payment card information. A user may present a payment card such as a credit card to point-of-sale equipment. The point-of-sale equipment may encrypt the payment card information. An encryption algorithm may be used that takes as inputs a first part of the payment card information, a tweak formed by a second part of the payment card information, and an encryption key. The encrypted payment card information may be conveyed to a gateway over a communications network. The gateway may identify which encryption algorithm was used in encrypting the payment card information and may re-encrypt the payment card information using a format preserving encryption algorithm. A network-based service may be used to remotely perform functions for the gateway.

Abstract: Format preserving encryption (FPE) cryptographic engines are provided for performing encryption and decryption on strings. A plaintext string may be converted to ciphertext by repeated application of a format preserving encryption cryptographic algorithm. Following each application of the format preserving cryptographic algorithm, the resulting version of the string may be analyzed to determine whether desired string constraints have been satisfied. If the string constraints have not been satisfied, further applications of the format preserving cryptographic algorithm may be performed. If the string constraints have been satisfied, the current version of the string may be used as an output for the cryptographic engine.

Abstract: A system is provided that uses cryptographic techniques to support secure messaging between senders and recipients. A sender may encrypt a message for a recipient using the recipient's public key. The sender may send the encrypted message to the message address of a given recipient. A server may be used to decrypt the encrypted message for the recipient, so that the recipient need not install a decryption engine on the recipient's equipment.

Abstract: A data processing system is provided that includes format-preserving encryption and decryption engines. A string that contains characters has a specified format. The format defines a legal set of character values for each character position in the string. During encryption operations with the encryption engine, a string is processed to remove extraneous characters and to encode the string using an index. The processed string is encrypted using a format-preserving block cipher. The output of the block cipher is post-processed to produce an encrypted string having the same specified format as the original unencrypted string. During decryption operations, the decryption engine uses the format-preserving block cipher in reverse to transform the encrypted string into a decrypted string having the same format.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for securing payment card information. A user may present a payment card such as a credit card to point-of-sale equipment. The point-of-sale equipment may use a symmetric key to encrypt payment card information associated with the payment card. The symmetric key may be encrypted at the point-of-sale equipment using the identity-based-encryption (IBE) public key of a purchase transaction processor to produce a key transfer block. The key transfer block and the encrypted payment card information may be conveyed from the point-of-sale equipment to the purchase transaction processor over a communications network. At the purchase transaction processor, an IBE private key may be used to recover the symmetric key from the key transfer block. The symmetric key can be used to decrypt the encrypted payment card information for processing and re-encryption using a key associated with the purchase transaction processor.

Abstract: A data processing system is provided that includes applications, databases, encryption engines, and decryption engines. Encryption and decryption engines may be used to perform format-preserving encryption on data strings stored in a database. Applications may be used to embed information in data strings. Information may be embedded by using a character set that is larger than a character set being used by a data string. A data string may be converted into a larger character set, analogous to converting a number from a lower base to higher base. Such a conversion may shorten a data string, allowing information to be embedded as appended characters.

Abstract: A URL verification service is provided that is used to evaluate the trustworthiness of universal resource locators (URLs). As a user browses the world wide web, the URL for a web page to which the user is browsing is captured by the service. The URL has a second level domain corresponding to a web site. The URL verification service identifies a proposed brand that should be associated with the URL if the URL is trustworthy. The proposed brand and the second level domain are used as database queries to query a database such as a search engine database. The results of the database query are processed to determine whether the URL is legitimately associated with the URL. To ensure that the proposed brand is identified accurately, the URL verification service gathers brand information using web page content, secure sockets layer certificate content, or other web site attributes.

Abstract: A system is provided that uses identity-based encryption (IBE) to support secure communications. Messages from a sender may be encrypted using an IBE public key and IBE public parameter information associated with a recipient. The recipient may decrypt IBE-encrypted messages from the sender using an IBE private key. A host having a service name may be used to store the IBE public parameter information. The sender may use a service name generation rule to generate the service name based on the IBE public key of the recipient. The sender may use the service name to obtain the IBE public parameter information from the host.

Abstract: Systems and methods for secure messaging are provided. A sender may encrypt content and send the encrypted content to a recipient over a communications network. The encrypted content may be decrypted for the recipient using a remote decryption service. Encrypted message content may be placed into a markup language form. Encrypted content may be incorporated into the form as a hidden form element. Form elements for collecting recipient credential information such as username and password information may also be incorporated into the form. At the recipient, the recipient may use the form to provide recipient credential information to the remote decryption service. The recipient may also use the form to upload the encrypted content from the form to the decryption service. The decryption service may provide the recipient with access to a decrypted version of the uploaded content over the communications network.

Abstract: Format-preserving encryption and decryption processes are provided. The encryption and decryption processes may use a block cipher. A string that is to be encrypted or decrypted may be converted to a unique binary value. The block cipher may operate on the binary value. If the output of the block cipher that is produced is not representative of a string that is in the same format as the original string, the block cipher may be applied again. The block cipher may be repeatedly applied in this way during format-preserving encryption operations and during format-preserving decryption operations until a format-compliant output is produced. Selective access may be provided to portions of a string that have been encrypted using format-preserving encryption.

Abstract: Systems and methods for secure messaging are provided. A sender may encrypt content and send the encrypted content to a recipient over a communications network. The encrypted content may be decrypted for the recipient using a remote decryption service. Encrypted message content may be placed into a markup language form. Encrypted content may be incorporated into the form as a hidden form element. Form elements for collecting recipient credential information such as username and password information may also be incorporated into the form. At the recipient, the recipient may use the form to provide recipient credential information to the remote decryption service. The recipient may also use the form to upload the encrypted content from the form to the decryption service. The decryption service may provide the recipient with access to a decrypted version of the uploaded content over the communications network.