Methods and systems for increasing the security of electronic messages

1. A method for accessing e-mail messages comprising:

automatically verifying, by a processor, as a recipient of an e-mail message is specified by a sender of the e-mail message while the e-mail message is drafted by the sender, that the recipient of the e-mail message is enrolled in a biometric authentication system;

generating modified e-mail messages from the e-mail message with the processor and transmitting a respective modified e-mail message to each verified recipient;

comparing, by the processor, a transaction identifier extracted from a hyperlink included in a modified e-mail message against transaction identifiers included in a transaction registry;

determining, by the processor, that e-mail message contents can be transmitted to a recipient device, and mapping the extracted identifier to an e-mail identifier and a recipient identifier, when the extracted identifier matches a transaction identifier; and

permitting, by the processor, the recipient to view the e-mail message contents after the recipient is successfully authenticated.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , said permitting step comprising:

assigning control attributes to the e-mail message contents; and

transmitting the e-mail message contents and attributes to the recipient device.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 , said generating step comprising:

generating a different hyperlink for each respective recipient; and

inserting the different hyperlink for each respective recipient in a respective modified e-mail message.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising displaying the e-mail message contents on the recipient device in accordance with control attributes assigned to the e-mail message.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:

verifying the e-mail message contents can be accessed;

verifying that the contents have not been disabled; and

verifying that the contents have not been deleted.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising displaying a notification message on the recipient device, the notification message for notifying the respective recipient regarding receipt of the modified e-mail message.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6 , further comprising extracting the transaction identifier from the hyperlink included in the e-mail message after the hyperlink is selected.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:

comparing biometric data captured from the recipient against stored biometric data to generate a matching score; and

successfully authenticating the recipient when the captured and stored biometric data match.

9. A system for accessing e-mail messages comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured to store e-mail messages, said system being associated with a network and said memory being in communication with said processor and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by said processor, cause said processor to perform operations comprising:

automatically verifying, as a recipient of an e-mail message is specified by a sender of the e-mail message while the e-mail message is drafted by the sender, that the recipient of the e-mail message is enrolled in a biometric authentication system;

generating modified e-mail messages from the e-mail message and transmitting a respective modified e-mail message to each verified recipient;

comparing a transaction identifier extracted from a hyperlink included in the modified e-mail message against transaction identifiers included in a transaction registry;

mapping the extracted identifier to an e-mail identifier and a recipient identifier when the extracted identifier matches a transaction identifier; and

permitting the recipient to view the e-mail message contents after the recipient is successfully authenticated.

10. A system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by said processor further cause said processor to determine that the e-mail message contents are stored in said memory when the extracted identifier matches the transaction identifier.

11. A system in accordance with claim 9 , further comprising a recipient device that displays a notification message for notifying the recipient regarding receipt of a modified e-mail message.

12. A system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by said processor further cause said processor to:

assign control attributes to the e-mail message contents; and

transmit the e-mail message contents and attributes to a recipient device.

13. A system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by said processor further cause said processor to:

generate a different hyperlink for each respective recipient; and

insert the different hyperlink for each respective recipient in a respective modified e-mail message.

14. A system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by said processor further cause said processor to:

verify the e-mail message contents can be accessed;

verify the contents have not been disabled; and

verify the contents have not been deleted.

15. A system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the instructions when executed by said processor further cause said processor to:

compare biometric data captured from the recipient against stored biometric data to generate a matching score; and

successfully authenticate the recipient when the captured and stored biometric data match.

16. A computer program recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium included in a computer system, the computer program being comprised of instructions, which when read and executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform at least the following operations:

automatically verify, as a recipient of an e-mail message is specified by a sender of the e-mail message while the e mail message is drafted by a sender, that the recipient of the e-mail message is enrolled in a biometric authentication system;

generate modified e-mail messages from the e-mail message and transmit a respective modified e-mail message to each verified recipient;

compare a transaction identifier extracted from a hyperlink included in the modified e-mail message against transaction identifiers included in a transaction registry;

map the extracted identifier to an e-mail identifier and a recipient identifier when the extracted identifier matches a transaction identifier; and

permit the recipient to view the e-mail message contents after the recipient is successfully authenticated.

17. A computer program in accordance with claim 16 further comprising instructions, which when read and executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

generate a different hyperlink for each respective recipient; and

insert the different hyperlink for each respective recipient in a respective modified e-mail message.

18. A computer program in accordance with claim 16 further comprising instructions, which when read and executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

verify the e-mail message contents can be accessed;

verify that the contents have not been disabled; and

verify that the contents have not been deleted.

19. A computer program in accordance with claim 16 further comprising instructions, which when read and executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

assign control attributes to the e-mail message contents; and

transmit the e-mail message contents and attributes to a recipient device.

20. A computer program in accordance with claim 16 further comprising instructions, which when read and executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to:

compare biometric data captured from the recipient against stored biometric data to generate a matching score; and

successfully authenticate the recipient when the captured and stored biometric data match.