System, method and computer program product for auditing XML messages in a network-based message stream

1. A method for auditing a message in a message stream, comprising:

a) capturing messages in a message stream traversing a security boundary having an encrypted side and a plaintext side with messages being captured in the message stream on both the encrypted and plaintext sides, wherein the messages captured on the encrypted side are in an encrypted format and the messages captured on the plaintext side are in a plaintext format, wherein the messages include at least one message in an extensible markup language (XML) format, at least a portion of the messages being captured using an enhanced operating system kernel having a socket option that suppresses output functions;

b) extracting the at least one message in the XML format from the captured messages from both the encrypted side and the plaintext side so that an encrypted version of the at least one message is extracted from the encrypted side and a plaintext version of the at least one message is extracted from the plaintext side;

c) applying a timestamp to each version of the extracted at least one message in the XML format using a module running on a tamperproof machine and having a secure time source; and

d) storing both versions of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format in a storage device with one version of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a first set of data and the other version of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a second set of data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device comprises a memory.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein socket connections associated the first and second sets of data are matched together to afford correlation of the first set of data to the second set of data to determine whether the first and second sets of data are the same to authenticate the data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message stream comprises a plurality of messages utilizing a plurality of protocols.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the captured messages are parsed to identify the at least one message in the XML format for extraction.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message stream is carried out over a communication path having one or more segments, and wherein messages are captured at each segment.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the captured messages are transmitted from each segment to an aggregation module prior to extraction of the at least one message in the XML format.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the timestamp includes a digital signature.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device comprises a write once storage medium.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a report relating to the captured messages is generated.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the timestamped at least one message in the XML format is encrypted prior to storage in the storage device.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the encrypted and plaintext version of the at least one message in the XML format are correlated to detect any changes between the versions of the at least one message in the XML format.

13. A system for auditing a message in a message stream, comprising:

a) logic for capturing messages in a message stream traversing a security boundary having an encrypted side and a plaintext side with messages being captured in the message stream on both the encrypted and plaintext sides, wherein the messages captured on the encrypted side are in an encrypted format and the messages captured on the plaintext side are in a plaintext format, wherein the messages include at least one message in an extensible markup language (XML) format, at least a portion of the messages being captured using an enhanced operating system kernel having a socket option that suppresses output functions;

b) logic for extracting the at least one message in the XML format from the captured messages from both the encrypted side and the plaintext side so that an encrypted version of the at least one message is extracted from the encrypted side and a plaintext version of the at least one message is extracted from the plaintext side;

c) logic for applying a timestamp to each version of the extracted at least one message in the XML format using a module running on a tamperproof machine and having a secure time source; and

d) logic for storing both versions of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format in a storage device with one version of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a first set of data and the other version of the time stamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a second set of data.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the message stream comprises a plurality of message utilizing a plurality of protocols.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the captured messages are parsed to identify the at least one message in the XML format for extraction.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the timestamp includes a digital signature.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the timestamped at least one message in the XML format is encrypted prior to storage in the storage device.

18. A computer program product for auditing a message in a message stream, comprising:

a) computer code for capturing messages in a message stream traversing a security boundary having an encrypted side and a plaintext side with messages being captured in the message stream on both the encrypted and plaintext sides, wherein the messages captured on the encrypted side are in an encrypted format and the messages captured on the plaintext side are in a plaintext format, wherein the messages include at least one message in an extensible markup language (XML) format, at least a portion of the messages being captured using an enhanced operating system kernel having a socket option that suppresses output functions;

b) computer code for extracting the at least one message in the XML format from the captured messages from both the encrypted side and the plaintext side so that an encrypted version of the at least one message is extracted from the encrypted side and a plaintext version of the at least one message is extracted from the plaintext side;

c) computer code for applying a timestamp to each version of the extracted at least one message in the XML format using a module running on a tamperproof machine and having a secure time source; and

d) computer code for storing both versions of the time stamped at least one message in the XML format in a storage device with one version of the time stamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a first set of data and the other version of the timestamped at least one message in the XML format stored as a second set of data.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the message stream comprises a plurality of message utilizing a plurality of protocols.

20. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the timestamp includes a digital signature.

21. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the timestamped at least one message in the XML format is encrypted prior to storage in the storage device.