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Patent Title: Digital signature generator /verifier/ recorder (DS-GVR) for analog transmissions

Assignee: IBM
Patent Number: US5680455
Issue Date: 10-21-1997
Application Number:
File Date:07-10-1996

Abstract: A method and apparatus authenticates and provides non-reputability for analog messages which renders it impossible for a person, including the recipient, who is not in possession of a (cryptographic) key belonging to the claimed sender, to forge the message. The recipient is able to verify that the sender possessed the correct key, and a third party (judge) can establish whether the message was forged or not. This is accomplished by interposing a digital signature generator/verifier/recorder (DS-GVR) module in the sending apparatus, such as a facsimile machine. The receiver, using another DS-GVR, can verify that a received document comes from the purported sender and has not been altered enroute. The receiver's DS-GVR module can be made to produce a machine-readable record of the signed transmission. Retention of such a machine-readable record by the receiver prevents the sender from repudiating legitimate messages, because it enables the receiver to prove to a third party such as a judge that the corresponding message was generated by the sender and not by the receiver.

Notes:

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