Messaging system with user-friendly encryption and decryption

摘要

Encryption of message content of an e-mail sent by way of a webmail service may be performed in response to activation of a user interface element. The message content may be encrypted using a symmetric key. A public key of a recipient of the e-mail is received from a backend service and employed to encrypt the symmetric key. The encrypted symmetric key and encrypted message content are sent to a recipient by way of the webmail service. Decryption of the encrypted message content may be performed in response to activation of another user interface element. A private key of the recipient is received from the backend service and employed to decrypt the encrypted symmetric key. The symmetric key is thereafter employed to decrypt the encrypted message content.

主权项

1. A messaging system comprising:
a backend system hosting a backend service for maintaining a public key and a private key pair of a first user of a recipient computer; and a sender computer configured to insert an encrypt button on a webpage of a webmail service in response to detecting the webpage being rendered in a web browser displayed on a display monitor of the sender computer, to receive the public key of the first user from the backend system, to retrieve from the webpage a message content of an e-mail addressed to the first user and being composed on the webpage in response to activation of the encrypt button, to encrypt the message content using a symmetric key to generate an encrypted message content, to encrypt the symmetric key using the public key of the first user to generate an encrypted symmetric key, to insert the encrypted message content and the encrypted symmetric key into the e-mail in the webpage, and to send the e-mail to the recipient computer by way of the webmail service.