1. A method for facilitating the transmission of a secure message from a sender to a recipient comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- receiving a request for a recipient's security software object from a sender;
- transmitting the software object in response to the request, the software object comprising a security procedure and recipient information;
- receiving a secured message secured using the security procedure and the recipient information; and
- transmitting the secured message to the recipient based on the recipient information.
2. A method of claim 1 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
3. A method of claim 2 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
4. A method of claim 1 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
5. A method for facilitating the transmission of a secure message from a sender to a recipient comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- receiving a request from a sender for recipient information encapsulated in a self-executable security procedure;
- transmitting the recipient information encapsulated in a self-executable security procedure in response to the request;
- receiving a secured message secured using the self-executable security procedure and the recipient information; and
- transmitting the secured message to the recipient based on the recipient information.
6. A method of claim 5 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
7. A method of claim 6 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
8. A method of claim 5 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
9. A method for creating and transmitting a secured message over an insecure network, comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- obtaining a software object comprising a security procedure and recipient information;
- generating a message;
- executing the software object to secure the message; and
- transmitting the secured message based on the recipient information.
10. A method for creating and transmitting a secured message over an insecure network comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- transmitting a request for recipient information;
- obtaining the recipient information embedded in a self-executable security procedure;
- generating a message; and
- transmitting the message secured by the self-executable security procedure and the recipient information.
11. A method for constructing a software object for transmitting a secure message to an intended recipient over an insecure network comprising the steps of:
- determining a security procedure;
- determining recipient information;
- encapsulating the recipient information and the security procedure in a software object; and
- storing the software object to a storage medium accessible by users.
12. A computer program product comprising:
- a computer-usable medium having computable-readable code embodied therein for transmitting a secure message across an insecure network between a client and a server, the computer program product comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- receiving a request from a sender;
- transmitting a software object in response to the request, the software object comprising a security procedure and recipient information;
- receiving a secured message secured using the security procedure and the recipient information; and,
- transmitting the secured message to the recipient based on the recipient information.
13. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
15. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
16. A computer program product comprising:
- a computer-usable medium having computable-readable code embodied therein for transmitting a secure message across an insecure network between a client and a server, the computer program product comprising the steps, performed by a processor, of:
- determining a security procedure;
- determining recipient information;
- encapsulating the recipient information and the security procedure in a software object; and,
- storing the software object to a storage medium.
17. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
19. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
20. A system for facilitating the transmission of a secure message from a sender to a recipient comprising:
- a first receiver for receiving a request for a recipient's security software object from a sender;
- a first transmitter for transmitting the software object in response to the request, the software object comprising a security procedure and recipient information;
- a second receiver for receiving a secured message secured using the security procedure and the recipient information; and,
- a second transmitter for transmitting the secured message to the recipient based on the recipient information.
21. The system of claim 20 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
23. The system of claim 20 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
24. An apparatus for facilitating the transmission of a secure message from a sender to a recipient comprising:
- a component configured to receive a request from a sender;
- a component configured to transmit a software object in response to the request, the software object comprising a security procedure and recipient information;
- a component configured to receive a secured message secured using the security procedure and the recipient information; and,
- a component configured to transmit the secured message to the recipient based on the recipient information.
25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the security procedure comprises a public-key encryption algorithm.
26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the recipient information comprises:
- a public key associated with a recipient.
27. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the recipient information comprises the recipient's routing information.
