Disarming malware in digitally signed content

1. A system for disarming malicious code in digitally-signed content, the system comprising:

means for determining that content is associated with a first digital signature;

means for creating modified content by modifying at least a portion of digital values of the content to disable any malicious code included in the content; and

means for signing the modified content with a second digital signature, thereby creating signed modified content, the signed modified content including a data element corresponding to the first digital signature.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising enabling access to the modified content by an intended recipient.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising means for verifying authenticity of the first digital signature.

4. The system of claim 3 , further comprising means for receiving an indication from a trusted third party indicative of the authenticity of the first digital signature.

5. The system of claim 3 , further comprising means for approving the first digital signature based on a policy.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the policy enables approval of the first digital signature based on a characteristic of a certificate associated with the first digital signature.

7. The system of claim 3 , further comprising means for receiving an indication from an administrator indicating approval of the digital signature.

8. The system of claim 2 , further comprising means for providing a notification to the intended recipient that the first digital signature of the content has been verified.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the notification is included in content of the modified content.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the notification is included in a communication associated with the modified content.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the communication is an electronic message including the modified content attached thereto.

12. The system of claim 2 , wherein the second digital signature is associated with a security gateway in the network.

13. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

means for storing the content in association with the first digital signature in a dedicated storage area; and

means for enabling access to the content by the intended recipient according to a policy.

14. A method for disarming malicious code in a computer system having a processor, the method comprising:

determining that input content associated with a recipient in a network is signed with a first digital signature;

verify authenticity of the first digital signature;

generating modified input content by modifying at least a portion of digital values of the input content to disable any malicious code included in the input content; and

signing the modified input content with a second digital signature, the signed modified input content including one or more elements indicative of the authenticity of the first digital signature.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the generating is performed without first detecting malicious code in the input content.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

storing the input content in association with the first digital signature in a dedicated storage area of the computer system; and

enabling access to the input content by the recipient according to a policy of the computer system.

17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising inserting the one or more content elements into the modified input content.

18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising inserting the one or more content elements into the second digital signature.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor are configured for carrying out the method of claim 14 .

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

determine that content is associated with a first digital signature;

create modified content by modifying at least a portion of digital values of the content to disable any malicious code included in the content; and

sign the modified content with a second digital signature, thereby creating signed modified content, the signed modified content including a data element corresponding to the first digital signature.