Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus allows a session key for a encrypted message to be recovered even if the recipient loses or forgets his private key. A session key encrypted using the public key of a party other than the intended recipient of the message is transmitted to the third party such as a certificate authority, who uses an identifier to retrieve private information known to the intended recipient of the message. The third party can compare the private information with private information provided by the party claiming to be the intended recipient. If the private information retrieved matches or nearly matches the private information provided, the third party can decrypt the session key using the third party's private key and provide the session key to the intended recipient. The intended recipient can then use the session key to decrypt the message, without making available the intended recipient's private key to any party other than the intended recipient, or storing the intended recipient's public key on the third party's system. Law enforcement agencies can intercept the message and the session key encrypted with the third party's public key and can provide to the third party a court order to retrieve the session key to decrypt the message without notifying the intended recipient.

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First Claim