Electronic communications management system and method

Abstract

A system and methods that prioritize email based on the use of cryptographic signatures are described. The system can allow email to be received without blocking a subset of the email. When email is received, the system can determine whether the email is received from an approved user who has exchanged public keys with the email recipient and determines whether the email includes one or more cryptographic signatures. Emails with signatures that are successfully verified can be identified as having a higher priority level than emails without the cryptographic signatures. The emails with the higher priority level can be presented to the recipient in a priority inbox. Emails without the signatures can be placed in a different folder, which is not presented to the user by default, but can be presented to the user in response to a request from the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for prioritized communication, the method comprising:
 outputting a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides functionality for a user to create a first email;   receiving the first email that the user created with the GUI at a communication system;   identifying an intended recipient of the first email;   determining, by one or more processors, whether the intended recipient is included in a set of users associated with the first user; and   in response to determining that the intended recipient is included in the set of users:
 accessing a first private key associated with the first user; 
 using the first private key to create a first signature based at least in part on the header of the first email; 
 accessing a second private key associated with the first user; 
 using the second private key to create a second signature based at least in part on the body of the first email; and 
 sending the first email, the first signature, and the second signature to the intended recipient, thereby enabling a recipient communication system associated with the intended recipient to prioritize the first email. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication system and the recipient communication system are the same. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to determining that the intended recipient is not included in the set of users, the method further comprises sending the first email without signatures to the intended recipient, thereby enabling the recipient communication system to prioritize the first email based on the lack of signatures. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first private key is associated with a first public key and the second private key is associated with a second public key, and wherein the method further comprises providing the first public key and the second public key to the set of users associated with the first user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein sending the first email comprises sending an encrypted version of the first email. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to determining that the intended recipient is included in the set of users, the method further comprises:
 accessing a third private key associated with the first user; and   encrypting the first email using the third private key to obtain an encrypted first email.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the third private key is associated with a third public key, and wherein the method further comprises providing the third public key to the intended recipient. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises providing the third public key to the intended recipient without providing the third public key to additional users. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, in response to an unsuccessful verification of at least one of the first signature and the second signature, the method further comprises rejecting the second email. 
     
     
         10 . A system for prioritized communication, comprising:
 a communication director comprising computer hardware, the communication director configured to:
 receive an email from a first user; and 
 identify an intended recipient of the email; 
   a user association module configured to determine whether the intended recipient is in a set of one or more users associated with the first user by the first user;   a signature module configured to create one or more signatures based on a portion of the email in response to the user association module determining that the intended recipient is included in the set of one or more users;   the communication director further configured to send the email and the one or more signatures to the intended recipient, thereby enabling a recipient communication system associated with the recipient to prioritize the email.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising the recipient communication system. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein each of the one or more signatures is based on a different portion of the email. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the signature system is further configured to:
 access one or more private keys associated with the first user, the number of private keys corresponding to the number of signatures; and   use the one or more private keys to create the one or more signatures, each signature created using a different private key.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more private keys are associated with one or more corresponding public keys, and wherein the user association system is further configured to provide the one or more corresponding public keys to the set of users. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a certification system configured to encrypt the email with a certification private key associated with the user to obtain an encrypted email. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the communication director is further configured to send the encrypted email when sending the email and the one or more signatures to the intended recipient. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the certification private key is associated with a certification public key, and wherein the user association system is further configured to provide the certification public key to the intended recipient. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising an interface system configured to output a graphical user interface that enables the user to create the email.