Patent attributes
A method, system, and computer program product for providing security for files transferred across a network, such as the Internet is provided. In one embodiment, a web service receives a request for content from a partner. The web service contacts a certificate authority to authenticate the partner and retrieves the requested content. The web service then generates a secret key and encrypts the content with the secret key to produce encrypted content. The secret key and the encrypted content are then embedded within a digital certificate issued by the certificate authority by using the public key of a public/private key pair issued by the certificate authority. The digital certificate is then transmitted to the partner where the partner decrypts the digital certificate to obtain the secret key and then uses the secret key to decrypt the encrypted content. A similar process may be used for the partner to send content to the web service.
