WO1998047261A1

WO1998047261A1 - System and method for secured transmission of data over telephone communications system

Info

Publication number: WO1998047261A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/007094
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gregory Glenn Odom
Original assignee: Lincoln Investments, Limited
Priority date: 1997-04-11
Filing date: 1998-04-09
Publication date: 1998-10-22
Also published as: AU6960498A; US6141116A

Abstract

A method and system for confidential transmissions of documents over existing telephone communications lines are disclosed that generate encrypted documents suitable for reception by a facsimile machine. The encrypted document can be received by a facsimile device (60) at a distant location and deencrypted by its intended recipient with the use of a unique encryptogram (38). The encrypted document can be recognized by existing optical character recognition systems and then modified to minimize the number of characters errors. The original text document is processed to create a unique character set prior to transmission and processed again at the receiving end to convert it into its original plain language format.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SECURED TRANSMISSION OF DATA OVER TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates in general to the transmission

of data over a network, and, in particular to a system

and method for generating an encrypted document for

confidential transmission of information over an existing

telecommunications network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Without limiting the invention, its background is

described in connection with a system that creates an

encrypted document which is transmitted over a

communications path containing at least two facsimile

devices .

Through the years, the Public Switched Telephone

Network ("PSTN") has become vital to the transfer of

digital information. Modems, telecopiers or facsimile

machines have turned the PSTN into an inexpensive and

effective way of transmitting and receiving messages,

data and other forms of electronic information.

Moreover, the increasing use of information services,

such as CompuServe, Prodigy and America On Line, and the

recent emergence of the Internet as the information

highway of choi'ce have made the PSTN a critical and

necessary element of the modern electronic-age.

There are many reasons for the increasing use of the

PSTN as a means of information transfer including its

reliability, low cost of use and worldwide reach. Today,

most anyone with a computer, modem and software can gain

access to a large volume of information from practically any location where a telephone line outlet can be found.

Thus, a point-to-point transfer between any two locations

can be easily established and data transferred and

received almost instantaneously. An example of this type

of transfer would be a facsimile transmission or dial-up

modem.

Other methods of electronic information transfer

involve the use of the Internet as a way of avoiding the

long distance charges associated with point-to-point PSTN

transfers. The Internet provides widespread access to an

unlimited number of users from an unlimited number of

worldwide locations. Individual users, groups and other

entities are identified on the Internet by a unique

address. A local access hub provides users with an entry

point into the Internet network. The local hub acts as

the exchange point for both incoming and outgoing data by

routing messages to their intended recipients. Since a

point-to-point connection is never established, the costs

are limited to those charged by the local hub provider

and/or a nominal periodic access fee.

Still other methods of information exchange include

the use of information services such as CompuServe, Prodigy or American On Line. As with the Internet, a

user typically dials into such information services via a

local access hub. The user may employ a proprietary

software application on a computer which helps the user

obtain access. The costs incurred by the user typically

include a monthly access fee and a charge corresponding

to the total amount of access during a given period.

Whether using a point-to-point transfer, the

Internet or the information services described above,

there is no existing method of transferring and receiving

electronic information with complete confidentiality if a

facsimile machine is part of the communications path.

Facsimile transmissions have become common place in

today's world, yet the use of facsimile equipment

compromises the confidentiality of the information since

it involves the transfer and receipt of plain language

documents. While a document can be stamped

"CONFIDENTIAL" in most cases there is no guarantee that

the information is received and seen only by its intended

recipient. Even where the facsimile device is part of

the recipient's computer, there is no guarantee that the intended recipient may not be the only person who has

access to the computer.

These concerns are made even more critical when the

information being transmitted is highly sensitive,

classified or involves priority. Examples of such

information include a person's credit card numbers,

savings or checking account numbers, billing histories,

social security numbers and the like. Traditionally, it

has been this concern for information security that has

kept mainstream vendors and merchants from placing their

goods and services for order on the PSTN via facsimile

transmission. Should the user wish to place an order or

make a purchase on the PSTN, the user is in essence

leaving "carbon" copies of his credit and/or debit

history behind for hackers to read, record and use in the

future . i

Various methods have been proposed to increase the

overall security and integrity of the data transmission

process on the PSTN. One method involves encryption of

the data stream prior to transmission. Encryption

involves scrambling the data stream so that the information is uncipherable and unintelligible to anyone

who may intercept the data during transmission.

A commonly used encryption method is the Data

Encryption Standard (DES) as set forth in Federal

Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPs-PUB) -

46 (1977) . Normally, a DES based algorithm and secret

Key are used by a message sender to encrypt the data

prior to transmission. Once the data stream arrives at

its intended destination, the DES and Key are then used

by the recipient to deencrypt the data into an

intelligible form. The Key often consists of a 56-bit

combination of data which can be interpreted as 16

hexadecimal characters (0-9, and A-F) .

Another encryption method involves the use of the

RSA algorithm. In operation, an RSA-based program will

generate two large prime numbers hundreds of digits long

and produce both a "public" key and a "private" key from

the numbers to allow encryption and deencryption of

electronic messages, respectively. However, RSA

encryption has not been popular since the generation and

distribution of keys has made it difficult to manage on a

widespread basis. Specifically, in an Internet environment where the handling of many transmissions and

many users is critical, the use of RSA based programs is

impractical .

Prior art systems have been developed to address the

problems associated with the secure transmission of data

over a network. For example, one approach is the End-To-

End Encryption System and Method of Operation disclosed

in United States Letters Patent No. 4,578,530 to Zeidler.

The '530 patent relates to a method of transmitting DES

encrypted Personal Identification Numbers (PIN) for use

in conjunction with Automated Teller Machines (ATM) where

a user's PIN and other account information are input by a

combination of a magnetic strip on a plastic card and by

keyboard entry.

However, while the '530 patent operates to increase

system security¹ in a network environment involving ATMs,

it is not well suited for the electronic transmission of

messages on the PSTN where PINs and magnetic cards are

unknown elements. Furthermore, while in operation the

'530 relies on financial institutions to provide their

clients with a specific PIN and magnetic card, it is not well-suited to environments where a plain language

document is being transferred over a facsimile machine.

Specifically, none of the conventional prior art

systems provide for a reliable and secured method of

transmitting sensitive or confidential information from

sender to recipient where a facsimile device is part of

the communications data path. Conventional prior art

systems focus on key generation and distribution

processes that are inapplicable where a plain language

document is involved.

What is needed is a device and method for creating

an encrypted document that can only be deencrypted and

viewed by its intended recipient after transmission.

Such a device and method would fill the void left by

prior art systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves many of the problems

identified above by providing a method and apparatus for

secured transmissions of documents over existing PSTN

lines. Transmissions can occur as point-to-point, over

available information services, on the Internet or

through an intranet, but a principle object of the

invention is to provide a system that generates encrypted

documents suitable for transfer over PSTN lines and

reception by a facsimile device. The encrypted document

can be received and deencrypted by the recipient as

desired. In this way, only the intended recipient has

access to the underlying contents of the documents

transmitted.

Another object of the present invention is to

provide an apparatus and method of creating encrypted

documents that can be recognized by existing Optical

Character Recognition ("OCR") systems. In this regard,

encrypted data is modified to minimize the number of

character errors resulting from OCR. The encrypted

document is processed to create a unique character set

prior to transmission. At the receiving end, the encrypted and processed document is converted by OCR and

deencrypted into its original plain language format.

Another object of the present invention is to

provide a system for the transfer of electronic documents

with a verification feature that ensures only the

intended recipient can deencrypt the document . In this

regard, a unique key is used to accomplish the encryption

and deencryption functions. The selection of the key is

determined by the parties prior to transmission.

Alternatively, a unique encryption key is randomly

generated and incorporated on encryption software

residing both at the transmitting and receiving stations.

Upon receipt, the system processes the file and allows

the recipient to enter the key prior to deencryption.

Alternatively, the file is processed automatically by

software on the, receiving station and verified to ensure

only the intended recipient is deencrypting the file.

More specifically, the present invention is directed

to a process for transmitting electronic files

comprising, obtaining an electronic file, which is

encrypted using an encryption software to produce an

encrypted file. The encryption software may use, for example, the Data Encryption Standard or a modified Data

Encryption Standard for encrypting the electronic file.

An encryptogram is selected between the sending and

receiving parties for use in encrypting and deencrypting

an electronic file into an encrypted file. The encrypted

file is then transmitted over PSTN lines, or on the

Internet or an intranet, using a facsimile machine. The

facsimile machine can be a stand alone facsimile machine

or a facsimile machine that is integral with a computer.

The electronic file to be encrypted may be entered

by using a keyboard, a mouse or other similar device.

Alternatively, the electronic file to be encrypted can be

stored in computer memory, or on a storage device such as

a diskette, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical drive or a

hard drive, for example.

The encrypted file sent by facsimile transmission is

received by a facsimile machine that is a stand alone

facsimile machine or is a facsimile machine integral with

a computer. The encrypted file received by the facsimile

machine is then subjected to an optical character

recognition regime, and the output is saved as, for

example, a text file. The output may be saved to a disk, kept in memory, displayed on a cathode ray tube or may be

printed.

The output from the optical character recognition

regime may then be directly deencrypted by deencrypting

software using the encryptogram selected by the parties

or integral to the software. The encryptogram may be

selected by the sending and receiving party or parties

prior to each transmission, concurrent with transmission

or after transmission.

The output of the optical character recognition

regime may be verified using, for example, a longitudinal

redundancy check. Alternatively, the output file may be

verified manually. After the file has been deencrypted

it may be save to disk or memory, or may be displayed on

a cathode ray tube or printed.

The present invention also includes an apparatus for transmitting electronic files comprising, a first

computer having a first electronic file and encryption

software. The first computer encrypts the electronic

file using the encryption software to produce an

encrypted file. The encryption software uses an encryptogram that is known by the receiving party or

parties for encrypting and deencrypting the software.

The encrypted file is then transmitted by a first

facsimile over, for example, a PSTN, the Internet or an

intranet. A second facsimile device receives the

encrypted file. The second facsimile machine may be a

stand alone facsimile machine or one integral with a

computer.

The encrypted file received may then be stored or

subjected to an optical character recognition device,

which scans the encrypted file and produces as an output

a second electronic file. A second computer receives the

second electronic file from the optical character

recognition device, and used the correct encryptogram and

deencryption software within the second computer to

deencrypt the electronic counterpart. The deencrypted

file may then be stored, displayed on a cathode ray tube

or printed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the features

and advantages of the present invention, reference is now

made to the detailed description of the invention along

with the accompanying figures in which corresponding

numerals in the different figures refer to corresponding

parts and in which:

Figure 1 is a block diagram depicting the overall

system in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 depicts a specific example of a system for

transmitting and receiving encrypted documents in

accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a flow diagram of the transmit process

in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram of the receive process in

accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 5 illustrates the document encryption/

deencryption process at various stages of processing in

accordance with one embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of

the present invention are discussed in detail below, it

should be appreciated that the present invention provides

many applicable inventive concepts which can be embodied

in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific

embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of

specific ways to make and use the invention and do not

delimit the scope of the invention.

In Figure 1, a block diagram of the overall

transmission system in accordance with the preferred

embodiment of the invention is shown and denoted

generally as numeral 10. As shown, transmission system

10 comprises a first station 15 for performing a

plurality of functions as herein described. For example,

first station 15 gives the user the ability to create,

save and edit documents including text, graphics and

other forms of electronic data. An input means 20 such

as a keyboard, mouse or other similar device can be used

to allow entry of the data into first station 15.

Alternatively, the electronic file 30 may be obtained

from a databank or database of files. First station 15 can take a variety of forms including a desktop or

notebook computer, workstation or processing system.

Other functional components of the first station 15

include electronic files 30, encryption software 32, and

OCR software 36. Each of these components (30, 32, 36)

are required by the first station 15 for creating,

decoding, transmitting and scanning documents as herein

described. Facsimile software 34 may also be used with

the present invention.

The electronic files 30 can take many formats

including memos , word processing documents or scanned

image files among others file types. Also, electronic

files 30 can be stored on a magnetic surface such as a

diskette, hard disk drive or other similar medium. In

the preferred embodiment, electronic files 30 contains

text and alphanumeric characters that can be edited,

copied and otherwise manipulated on first station 15.

The encryption software 32 may also be maintained on

the first station 15 for encrypting and deencrypting

electronic files 30. Various methods of encryption may

be used, although in some embodiments the Data Encryption

Standard (DES) set forth in Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPs-PUB) -46 (1977) is

preferred. Other methods of data encryption may be

employed. In any case, the encryption software 32 allows

the scrambling of electronic files 30 so that the

underlying data is uncipherable and unintelligible to

anyone but the those with access to the encryptogram 38.

In the preferred embodiment, encryptogram 38 is a

unique identifier associated with first station 15 and is

randomly selected by the encryption software 34 to

encrypt the document for printing or transmission. The

sending and receiving parties are the only two parties

whose encryption software 34 and 84 is able to obtain or

determine the encryptogram 38. As such, the sending and

receiving users are the only ones with access to the

information of the encrypted electronic file transmitted.

The encryptogram 38 is used by the encryption software 32

during the encryption process prior to printing or

transmission of the document and then used by the

encryption software 84 to deencrypt the document.

As shown, first station 15 has facsimile software 34

that can be used to control facsimile device 40.

Facsimile software 34 and facsimile device 40 may be implemented in a plurality of configurations. For

example, in one embodiment, the facsimile device 40 is a

fax modem coupled to first station 15. In this

configuration, the facsimile software 34 is used to

control the operation of facsimile device 40 and permit

the user of first station 15 to select an electronic file

30 for transmission via facsimile device 40.

Yet in another configuration, facsimile software 34

and facsimile device 40 are self contained in a single

system such as a stand alone facsimile machine. In this

case, the user must use printer 22 to obtain a hard copy

of the encrypted text document and manually feed the

document into facsimile device 40.

First station 15 also has OCR software 36 that

provides the scanning functions. For example, a user may

want to scan an» existing document through scanning device

45. The user may, or may not, OCR the document. No

particular type of OCR, or other scanning software, is

required to practice the present invention. Therefore,

the OCR software 36 providing scanning functionality can

be used to scan documents or drawings and stored as

electronic files 30. These files can be encrypted by the present invention for facsimile transmission to the

second station 70.

The facsimile device 40, or facsimile software 34,

is coupled to network 55 via line 50. In this way, the

facsimile device 40, or facsimile software 34, can

transmit information to second station 70. In the

preferred embodiment, the network 55 is the PSTN. In

other embodiments, network 55 comprises the Internet. In

still another embodiment, network 55 can be an intranet,

defined herein as a private switched network over which

facsimile device 40, or facsimile software 34, can

transmit information.

The second station 70 also has a facsimile device

60, or facsimile software 86, for receiving transmission

from first station 15. In operation using facsimile 60,

data is received via facsimile device 60 and converted

into an encrypted document as outpu . The encrypted

document is scanned in scanning device 65 to produce an

electronic file 82, which is transferred to second

station 70 for further processing. Using facsimile

software 86, the data is received via the PSTN network 55

and an electronic file 82 is produced for further processing. At this point the electronic file 82 is used

as input to the OCR software 88. The OCR software 88

produces another electronic file 82 in a text format for input to the encryption software 84. Using the

electronic file 82 produced by the OCR software 88, the

encryption software 84 scans the file for OCR errors.

The encryption software 84 then instructs the user as to

the locations of OCR errors so the user can correct such

areas using the hardcopy document received from facsimile

machine 40 or first station 15. Once all OCR errors are

corrected, the encryption software 84 will then determine

the encryptogram 90 and use it to deencrypt the

electronic file 82. The end result is either displayed

on the users display 80 or is stored as an electronic

file 82 for viewing with other software products.

Turning now to Figure 2, a specific example of the

system for transmitting and receiving encrypted documents

is shown and denoted generally as numeral 100. System

100 shows that a transmitting station 105 and a receiving

station 130 are provided and configured to communicate

with each other via the PSTN 125. The hardware

components of the transmitting station 105 include computer 110, printer 115 and facsimile machine 120. As

shown, computer 110 has a screen display 114 and a

keyboard 112 for viewing and entering data on computer

110. Software performing the block functions of Figure 1

as described above is resident on the computer 110.

Likewise, receiving station 130 comprises a computer 135,

facsimile machine 140, scanner 145 and printer 147.

In operation, computer 114 of transmitting station

105 encrypts a text document so it is uncipherable and

unintelligible to others. The text document is printed

on printer 115 and placed into facsimile machine 120.

Facsimile machine 120 transmits the encrypted document as

a facsimile transmission on PSTN 125 where it is received

by facsimile machine 140 to produce a hard copy. A

scanner 145 is used to scan the hard copy output of

facsimile device 140 and produce an electronic text file

of the hard copy. The electronic file is transferred to

the computer 135 where it is processed in accordance with

the method herein described. In one embodiment,

processing includes scan error correction, longitudinal

redundancy checking, and deencryption. At this point, the electronic file can be stored, deleted or manipulated

in computer 135 or printed on printer 147.

While a specific embodiment of the invention is

illustrated in the system 100 of Figure 2, it should be

understood that other configurations may be obtained

without departing from the true scope and spirit of the

invention.

In reference to Figure 3, the method of transmitting

an encrypted document is illustrated in flow chart form

and denoted generally as numeral 150. Method 150 begins

when the transmitting station creates a text file 155.

Next, the user adds a header as a means of addressing its

intended recipient.

As shown, an encryptogram is selected 165 by the

user. Step 165 may entail the entry of a unique

encryptogram known only by the transmitting party and the

receiving party. For example, parties may preselect an

encryptogram prior to transmission of the document. The

encryptogram would be used during the encryption process

prior to transmission and also during deencryption after

reception. Alternatively, software at the transmitting

station 105 and the receiving station 130 can be configured with the same encryptogram prior to

transmission to make the encryption/deencryption process

automatic. In this case, the encryptogram can be

randomly generated and distributed with the encryption

software 32, 84 to users prior to transmission.

The process 150 continues when the file is encrypted

170 using the unique encryptogram selected 165. In one

embodiment, a modified DES algorithm is used to perform

the encryption step 170. Other methods of encryption are

also contemplated. The encrypted file is then

decimalized 180 to create a file with characters 0-9 and

A-F. Step 180 simplifies the character stream of the

document and permits simplified character recognition at

the receiving station 130.

Further processing includes modifying the file to

reduce the OCR error rate 185 by creating the most unique

character set possible and thus increasing the accuracy

of the scanning process at the receiving station 130.

For example, in one embodiment step 185 involves changing

a "B" to an "X", "C" to "J" and "F" to "P" . This step

185 reduces the OCR error rate by permitting the OCR software 88 at the receiving station 70 to distinguish

between an "8" and a "B", "0" and "C" and "E" and "F" .

Next, the file is validated 190 by Longitudinal

Redundancy Check ("LRC") or other similar technique that

will permit the receiving station 130 to determine data

integrity by comparing the received file to the file that

was transmitted. In step 190, an LRC code and/or other

verification codes are added 195 to the file for

validation at the receiving end. Finally, the file is

transmitted 200 to its intended recipient using facsimile

device 40, line 50 and network 55. Other methods of transmitting the document to the second station 70 are

also contemplated.

Turning to Figure 4, the method of receiving

encrypted document is illustrated in flow chart form and

denoted generally as numeral 250. Process 250 begins

when the receiving facsimile device 60 receives the

encrypted file 255. Facsimile device 60 can perform this

function and create a hard copy output 260 of the

encrypted document. At this point the encrypted document

is in an unintelligible format. Next, the document is

scanned 265 by a device such as scanning device 65. No particular type of scanning device 65 is called for by

the invention.

In one embodiment of the invention, a serial number

is present on the receiving station 70 corresponding to a

unique copy of the encryption software 84. The serial

number is by the encryption software 84 on the receiving

station 70 to ensure an authorized system has received

the encrypted file.

Process 250 continues with step 280 wherein the

scanned document is processed by an OCR 280 program to

create a character text file. Since the encrypted file

was decimalized 180 prior to transmission, the resulting

text file will contain characters 0-9 and A-F. The text

file is processed for OCR errors 285. At this points,

errors in the text file may be present so the encryption

software 84 gives the user the option of editing 290 the

text files to correct simple errors.

In this embodiment, the serial number is encrypted

with the file at the transmission station 15 and a

comparison is made 275 between the file's serial number

and the serial number encrypted with the software. If

the numbers do not compare, an error condition occurs 277 and the process 250 is terminated. If the numbers do

compare, process 250 moves on to step 290. Step 290

involves performing LRC checking to increase the

integrity of the data file. Steps 285 and 290 may be

repeated until all errors in the scanned document are

corrected.

Process 250 continues when the intended recipient

enters the unique encryption key 300 to permit the

encryption software 84 to deencrypt the file. In another

embodiment, the encryption software compares the

encryptogram 38 from first station 15 automatically with

the encryptogram 38 at second station 70. If so, the

file is deencrypted 310 to create a plain language

formatted document, which the intended recipient can

read.

In Figure 5, the document encryption process at

various stages is demonstrated and denoted generally as

350. Encryption process 350 begins with an existing text

file 360 in a plain language format that can be read by

others. Next, the document is encrypted via existing

encryption methods as herein described and an

uncipherable document 365 is created. It should be understood that document 365 is provided as an example

and that document 365 is not representative of an actual

encrypted text file. As shown, document 365 has only

characters A-F and 0-9, but other character sets may be

employed.

Next, the document 365 is processed to reduce OCR

error rates by replacing certain characters in document

365 with more unique and distinguishable character. The

result is document 370. At this point the document is

transmitted 380 to its intended recipient and converted

to it original text format 385 in accordance with the

method herein described.

It should be understood that various embodiments of

the invention can employ or be embodied in hardware,

software or micro coded firmware. Process diagrams are

also representative of flow diagrams for micro coded and

software based embodiments.

While this invention has been described in reference

to illustrative embodiments, this description is not

intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various

modifications and combinations of the illustrative

embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art

upon reference to the description. It is therefore

intended that the appended claims encompass any such

modifications or embodiments.

Claims

In the Claims :

1. A process for transmitting electronic files in a

confidential manner over a communications path containing

a first and second facsimile device, said process

comprising the steps of:

electronically encrypting an electronic information

file using a preselected encryptogram;

printing the contents of said encrypted electronic

information file to create an indecipherable hard copy;

using said first facsimile device to transmit said

hard copy to an intended recipient;

receiving an image of said hard copy at said second

facsimile device;

creating a hard copy output of said image;

placing said output in an optical character

recognizer to create an electronic counterpart of said

output ,- and

using the said encryptogram to deencrypt the

electronic counterpart and create a decipherable message.

2. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said electronic information

file is input by a user with a keyboard.

3. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said electronic information

file is stored on a magnetic storage device.

4. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 3 wherein said magnetic storage device

is a diskette or a hard drive.

5. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said electronic files are

encrypted and deencrypted using the Data Encryption Standard. ,

6. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said communications path

uses the public switched telephone network.

7. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said communications path

uses the Internet .

8 The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said first and second

facsimile devices are inside a computer.

9. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said process further

comprises the step of printing said decipherable message.

10. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said process further

comprises the step of displaying said decipherable

message on a computer screen.

11. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said electronic information

files are validated prior to transmission using a

longitudinal redundancy check.

12. The process for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 1 wherein said electronic counterpart

is manually corrected to remove any errors remaining

after optical character recognition.

13. An apparatus for transmitting and receiving

electronic files confidentially over an unsecured

communications link, said comprising;

a first computer having an input means and a storage

means for storing said files;

encryption software in said first computer and

having the functionality to select any one of said

electronic files and encrypting it to create an

undecipherable message;

a first facsimile device for transmitting said

undecipherable message to an intended recipient;

a communications pathway connecting said first

facsimile device to a second facsimile device that

receives said undecipherable message;

an optical character recognition system for scanning

said message and producing an electronic counterpart of

said message; a second computer for receiving said electronic

counterpart from said optical character recognition

device; and

deencryption software within said second computer

for deencrypting said electronic counterpart.

14. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 13 wherein said electronic file is

input by a keyboard, a mouse or other similar device.

15. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 13 wherein said electronic storage is

a magnetic diskette or a hard disk drive.

16. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files of

claim 13 wherein the encryption software employs the Data

Encryption Standard.

17. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 13 wherein the public switched

telephone network is used to transmit files between said

first and second facsimile devices.

18. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files

according to claim 13 wherein the Internet is used to

transmit files between said first and second facsimile

devices .

19. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files of

claim 13 further comprising an intranet transmission line

for carrying said encrypted file between said first and

second facsimile machines.

20. The apparatus for transmitting electronic files of

claim 13 further comprising a printer for printing said

electronic counterpart.