Knowledge

Digital Postmarks

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Through the USPS EPM web-based service, any third-party can verify the authenticity of electronic content. This electronic proof, postmarked by the Postal Service, provides evidence to support non-repudiation of electronic transactions. The EPM is designed to deter and detect the fraudulent tampering
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Legal significance. In addition to federal and state legislative frameworks, the DPM holds legal weight with respect to the following legislation, which have been established to encourage people to form and sign contracts and agreements electronically:
687:(UPU) has identified trust services as the greatest opportunity for global postal growth. Specifically, they identified the Digital Postmark as the most important trust service; providing an excellent defense against online fraud and abuse. 849:", it uses an obsolete or unused portion of the packet to place the regional mark-up. When room does not exist in any one portion of the packet, the region information can be broken up and hashed in a subsequently retrievable way. 551:
Every postal service has a UPU regulation that manages the service and regulates how the posts will cooperate in that service. This makes it easier to assist member countries in developing the market for worldwide digital postmark
707:) is a proprietary variation of the Digital Postmark issued by the USPS. It was introduced in 1996 by the U.S. Postal Service as a service offering that provides proof of integrity and authentication for electronic transactions. 437:
USPS launches its digital postmark, the "Electronic Postmark". Development work on the S43 standard is completed. Microsoft agrees to define and produce an interface in W2000/XP and Office 2000 and XP 2003 to support the digital
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Additionally, content confidentiality is guaranteed since document certification is carried out without access or reading by the postal operator. The EPCM will eventually be available through the UPU to all international
590:– have developed their own digital postmark and use it today. Major software developers are also working to incorporate the global standard into popular applications used by millions of people worldwide. 143:. The key addition to the traditional postmarking technology was integrity of the electronically postmarked item, meaning any kind of falsification and tampering will be easily and definitely detected. 339:
enforcement: Mail fraud is virtually non-existent with physical mail due to the legal framework and the vigorous efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Digital Postmarks have the same
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Data stays private. Service never has access to your content and requires no modification or transmission of content. (only a hash code of the file is logged as evidence of authenticity.)
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It defined a technical standard – "S43 - Electronic PostMark Interface" – which was approved by the UPU Standards Board in November 2003 as a technical standard for the postal industry.
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in the 191 member countries willing to be compliant with this standard, thus granting interoperability in certified communications between postal operators. In the United States, the
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Working with current infrastructure, it is easy to implement - providing functionality even with no client-side software, and provides automated functionality with client software.
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develops a plug-in to enable Microsoft Office users to connect to a backend server, which delivers digital postmarks that comply with the UPU’s S43 technical standard.
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data needed to support a potential court challenge. It guarantees the certainty of date and time of the postmarking. This global standard was renamed the
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researchers Ihab Hamadeh and George Kesidis, to identify which region a packet or a set of packets comes from. It was developed as a way to combat
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In the United States, until the end of 2010, Authentidate was the only authorized USPS EPM provider. However, this contract was allowed to expire.
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The UPU Congress adopts a proposal to amend the UPU Convention to legally define the digital postmark, formally recognizing it as a new optional
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verification can do a quick check of integrity or the full receipt or even the original document can be retrieved from the DPM service using the
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The UPU Standards Board approves version 3 of the standard S43, the first to enable cross-border and global traffic using digital postmarks.
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If the signature is valid then a timestamp is generated by the DPM service as a counter-signature that includes the date and time
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A Digital Postmark Receipt, including the validation results and the timestamp, is returned to the client software
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This makes the EPM an optional postal service for UPU member countries, placing the EPM in the same category as
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18 U.S.C. §1028, Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents and information
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Verify request by other parties at a later date and compared with the receipt stored with the document.
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A workshop hosted by USPS decides on a consistent visual image for digital postmarks offered by Posts.
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April: The UPU Approved the renaming of Digital postmark to Electronic Postal Certification Mark EPCM
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Storage and archival of all non-repudiation evidence data required to support subsequent challenges
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18 U.S.C. §2510 regarding electronic communications. Definitions (17)Electronic storage means
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The document, signature, validation results and timestamp are stored in the Digital Postmark
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La Poste France develops an S43-based digital postmark server. It is used as early as 2006.
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to an electronic document, validates electronic signatures, and stores and archives all
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The UPU Standards Board begins the process to develop a global technical standard (
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Portugal’s postal service launches a legally recognized digital postmarks service.
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service supporting designed to protect the sanctity of mail in its digital form:
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proves document authenticity and timestamp accuracy to detect and prevent fraud.
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Upon receipt, the DPM service first validates the authenticity of the signature
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18 U.S.C. §1029, Fraud and related activity in connection with access devices.
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18 U.S.C. §2710 regarding unlawful access to stored electronic communications
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This DPM Regulation has dramatically increased interest in the EPM worldwide.
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Integrates easily into existing applications with standard-based interfaces.
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marks up a packet border with its region-identifying data. Also called a "
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worldwide have begun deploying DPM-based solutions. Five postal services –
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The Digital Postmark can be used for a variety of business applications:
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The signed document is sent to the Digital Postmarking (DPM) service for
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The UPU definition provides international technological and enforcement
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The USPS wrote that the key features of their Electronic Postmark are:
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Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), 2000
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Improved service quality by applying the same standards that govern
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The client software wraps the original document with the DPM receipt
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Recognizing the great potential of the Digital Postmark, numerous
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Article: New marking process traces spammers, pirates and hackers
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Adobe agrees to support the inclusion of the digital postmark.
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encryption insuring privacy and security of communications.
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The UPU Standards Board formally adopts the S43 standard (
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and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as
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Poste Italiane presents in Geneva the EPCM July 30, 2008
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Key dates in the development of the digital postmark:
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Stronger authentication than other standards such as (
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Content authentication web-based service (based upon
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Canada, France, Italy, Portugal and the United States
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Authentidate ends USPS Electronic Postmark contract
984:The Digital Postmark: Security for Cyberspace Mail 979: 977: 1091:ETSI Specialist Task Force 318: Registered Emails 1081:Worldwide Postal Network in Figures, October 2006 1071:Universal Postal Union - Postal Technology Center 969:Universal Postal Union - Postal Technology Centre 947:Electronic PostMark (EPM) Interface Specification 900:"U.S. Postal Service Unveils Electronic Postmark" 766:The USPS listed laws relevant to EPM as follows: 333:Compliance with all federal laws and regulations. 274:Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), 1998 484:September: The UPU Legally Defined the EPM as a 279:Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA), 1999 1076:USPS Glossary of Postal Terms (Publication 32) 8: 540:January: The UPU Approved a DPM Regulation ( 300:Proactive differentiation "good" email from 46:, which are uninformative and vulnerable to 638:(contracted with provider 1st quarter 2005) 61:and maintains a consistent citation style. 155:operates a non-global standard called the 103:Learn how and when to remove this message 879: 1021:United States Postal Service. (2006). 1005:United States Postal Service. (2006). 995:http://www.usps.com/electronicpostmark 263:Validation of certificate trust chains 778:Electronic Communications Privacy Act 119:(DPM) is a technology that applies a 7: 646:(contracted with provider July 2005) 133:Electronic Postal Certification Mark 936:, postalnews.com, January 12, 2011. 403:develop the first digital postmark. 249:of successfully verified signatures 53:Please consider converting them to 25: 923:USPS Electronic Postmark Homepage 945:Universal Postal Union. (2006). 841:A digital postmark works when a 711:or altering of electronic data. 343:for email fraud as for physical 31: 1061:Universal Postal Union homepage 736:Verify options include; local ( 654:(contracted with provider 2004) 371:signing Web forms and documents 215:To verify the signature, local 57:to ensure the article remains 1: 1041:USPS Electronic Postmark Page 228:Benefits of digital postmarks 1027:USPS Benefits of EPM website 898:admin-ectnews (2000-04-28). 847:border router packet marking 697:United States Postal Service 374:delivery of secure documents 1066:Purchase UPU S43-3 Standard 614:(launched 1st quarter 2003) 417:) for the digital postmark. 232:The DPM is fundamentally a 1132: 187:signs the document locally 1116:Computer network security 622:(launched September 2003) 822:mechanism, developed by 725:American Bar Association 354:reduction to only a few 971:viewed 2 December 2006. 377:interpersonal messaging 1011:USPS About EPM website 685:Universal Postal Union 606:(first launch in 1999) 584:postal administrations 1056:Portugal Post Service 747:Verification is free. 740:) & centralized ( 678:(preparing to launch) 670:(preparing to launch) 662:(preparing to launch) 859:Trusted timestamping 762:US legal environment 691:Electronic postmarks 183:Digital Postmarking 1051:French Post Service 701:Electronic Postmark 363:Applicable services 295:Additional benefits 178:electronic document 157:Electronic Postmark 956:2007-06-11 at the 508:2008-11-03 at the 455:2007-06-11 at the 121:trusted time stamp 951:UPU DPM Standards 832:denial-of-service 810:Other definitions 241:Digital signature 153:US Postal Service 113: 112: 105: 63:Several templates 16:(Redirected from 1123: 1029: 1019: 1013: 1003: 997: 992: 986: 981: 972: 966: 960: 949:(S43-3 Draft E). 943: 937: 931: 925: 920: 914: 913: 911: 910: 904:E-Commerce Times 895: 889: 884: 843:perimeter router 820:network security 818:(DPM) is also a 816:Digital Postmark 776:18 U.S.C. §2701 770:18 U.S.C. §1343 149:postal operators 117:Digital Postmark 108: 101: 97: 94: 88: 86: 75: 35: 34: 27: 21: 18:Digital postmark 1131: 1130: 1126: 1125: 1124: 1122: 1121: 1120: 1111:Postal markings 1096: 1095: 1037: 1032: 1023:Benefits of EPM 1020: 1016: 1004: 1000: 993: 989: 982: 975: 967: 963: 958:Wayback Machine 944: 940: 932: 928: 921: 917: 908: 906: 897: 896: 892: 885: 881: 877: 855: 812: 807: 764: 728:PKI Guidelines) 717: 693: 580: 510:Wayback Machine 457:Wayback Machine 390:1998–1999 384: 365: 337:Postal operator 297: 234:non-repudiation 230: 204:non-repudiation 185:client software 173: 165: 129:non-repudiation 125:postal operator 109: 98: 92: 89: 77: 66: 52: 36: 32: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1129: 1127: 1119: 1118: 1113: 1108: 1106:Postal systems 1098: 1097: 1094: 1093: 1088: 1083: 1078: 1073: 1068: 1063: 1058: 1053: 1048: 1043: 1036: 1035:External links 1033: 1031: 1030: 1014: 998: 987: 973: 961: 938: 926: 915: 890: 878: 876: 873: 872: 871: 866: 861: 854: 851: 811: 808: 806: 803: 802: 801: 798: 795: 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1064: 1062: 1059: 1057: 1054: 1052: 1049: 1047: 1046:USPS EPM site 1044: 1042: 1039: 1038: 1034: 1028: 1024: 1018: 1015: 1012: 1008: 1002: 999: 996: 991: 988: 985: 980: 978: 974: 970: 965: 962: 959: 955: 952: 948: 942: 939: 935: 930: 927: 924: 919: 916: 905: 901: 894: 891: 888: 883: 880: 874: 870: 867: 865: 862: 860: 857: 856: 852: 850: 848: 844: 839: 837: 833: 829: 825: 821: 817: 809: 804: 799: 796: 793: 788: 785: 784: 782: 779: 775: 773: 769: 768: 767: 761: 756: 753: 749: 746: 743: 739: 735: 732: 729: 726: 722: 721: 720: 714: 712: 708: 706: 702: 698: 690: 688: 686: 679: 676: 673: 671: 668: 665: 663: 660: 657: 655: 652: 649: 647: 644: 641: 639: 636: 633: 631: 628: 625: 623: 620: 617: 615: 612: 609: 607: 604: 601: 599: 596: 595:United States 593: 592: 591: 589: 585: 577: 572: 571: 567: 566: 562: 559: 554: 550: 549: 547: 543: 539: 536: 535: 531: 530: 526: 523: 522: 518: 517: 511: 507: 504: 500: 497: 493: 492: 491: 487: 483: 480: 476: 475: 471: 470: 466: 461: 460: 458: 454: 451: 447: 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Retrieved 903: 893: 882: 840: 815: 813: 765: 741: 737: 718: 715:Key features 709: 704: 700: 694: 682: 677: 669: 661: 653: 645: 637: 629: 621: 613: 605: 597: 587: 581: 578:Global usage 548:regulation. 542:See article) 496:Express Mail 490:See article) 485: 450:See article) 385: 366: 352:mailing cost 350:Significant 290: 254:timestamping 247:Timestamping 243:verification 231: 166: 156: 145: 132: 123:issued by a 116: 114: 99: 90: 79:Citation bot 41: 667:Netherlands 643:Switzerland 546:letter mail 401:Canada Post 252:Standalone 192:postmarking 171:The process 1100:Categories 909:2023-12-11 875:References 824:Penn State 805:Additional 772:Wire Fraud 345:mail fraud 259:Encryption 180:is created 59:verifiable 1007:About EPM 552:services. 503:standards 438:postmark. 324:Sender ID 163:Providers 137:Microsoft 44:bare URLs 954:Archived 853:See also 750:128 Bit 619:Portugal 506:Archived 453:Archived 306:phishing 206:database 48:link rot 699:(USPS) 780:(ECPA) 651:Brazil 611:Canada 603:France 68:reFill 836:virus 695:The 659:China 635:Egypt 627:Italy 356:cents 317:email 42:uses 869:USPS 830:and 828:spam 703:(EPM 683:The 568:2007 532:2006 519:2005 472:2004 443:2003 432:2002 422:2001 408:1999 399:and 397:USPS 395:The 328:DKIM 326:and 304:and 302:spam 139:and 76:and 864:UPU 752:SSL 415:S43 315:to 221:XML 176:An 1102:: 1025:. 1009:. 976:^ 902:. 814:A 744:). 459:. 330:). 115:A 912:. 834:( 705:© 512:. 498:. 488:( 481:. 358:. 347:. 319:. 308:. 106:) 100:( 95:) 91:( 87:. 85:) 81:( 74:) 70:( 50:. 20:)

Index

Digital postmark
bare URLs
link rot
full citations
verifiable
Several templates
reFill
documentation
Citation bot
documentation
Learn how and when to remove this message
trusted time stamp
postal operator
non-repudiation
Microsoft
Poste Italiane
postal operators
US Postal Service
electronic document
client software
postmarking
non-repudiation
cryptographic
XML
non-repudiation
Digital signature
Timestamping
timestamping
Encryption
Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), 1998

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