Flexible electronic message security mechanism
View Patent ↗Multiple different credentials and/or signatures based on different credentials may be included in a header portion of a single electronic message. Different recipients of intermediary computing systems may use the different credentials/signatures to identify the signer. The electronic message may include an encoding algorithm and a type identification of a credential included in the electronic message, allowing the recipient to decode and process the credential as appropriate given the type of credential. Also, the electronic message may include a pointer that references a credential associated with a signature included in the electronic message. That referenced credential may be accessed from the same electronic message, or from some other location. The recipient may then compare the references credential from the credentials used to generate the signature. If a match occurs, the integrity of the electronic message has more likely been preserved.
1. A method of generating a data structure on a computer readable medium representing an XML document using different credentials to identify a single source to different systems, the method comprising the following:
a) generating a first XML element that includes information relating to a first credential for a sender, used to identify the sender to a first computing system, and that further comprises the following descendent XML elements:
i) a second XML element that identifies the type of the first credential;
ii) a third XML element that identifies the encoding format of the first credential; and
iii) a fourth XML element that includes the first credential encoded using the identified encoding format of the first credential;
b) generating a fifth XML element that includes information relating to a different second credential for the sender, used to identify the sender to a different second computing system and that further comprises the following descendent XML elements:
i) a sixth XML element that identifies the type of the second credential;
ii) a seventh XML element that identifies the encoding format of the second credential; and
iii) an eighth XML element that includes the second credential encoded using the identified encoding format of the second credential;
c) generating a ninth XML element that includes information relating to a first signature that is signed using the first credential of the sender, and that further comprises the following descendent XML elements:
i) tenth XML element that includes the first signature; and
ii) an eleventh XML element that identifies the first credential as being a key used to generate the first signature;
d) generating a twelfth XML element that includes information relating to a second signature that is signed using the second credential of the sender, and that further comprises the following descendent XML elements:
i) a thirteenth XML element that includes the second signature; and
ii) a fourteenth XML element that identifies the second credential as being a key used to generate the second signature.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first computing system is a computing system intermediate to the sender computing system and the second computing system.
3. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first computing system is a computing system configured to recieve messages from the sender computing system in parallel to the second computing system.
4. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by the sender computing system.