JP2008052645A - Image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable cooperation between a policy server and an MFP that plays a central role of an office, and to use this security system in consideration of security even in an error case such as a policy server going down.
In a security system composed of a security policy server and an MFP, if a document is normally stored in an MFP box and then an attempt is made to operate the document, the box document policy is caused by some network failure, policy server down, etc. If you cannot get
(1) Do not perform any operation on the document stored in the box, (2) Display only the document name and owner name, (3) Apply the MFP default policy (minimum policy, for example, browsing only), and operate the box document (4) In conjunction with user authentication, if the owner of the document, all operations such as browsing and printing are enabled.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a security system including a security server and an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, due to laws and regulations such as the Personal Information Protection Law, companies are required to take various measures to prevent leakage of business information handled. While electronic documents are very convenient for exchanging information, there is a great risk of information leakage due to high distribution. Adobe (Adobe is a registered trademark) With the introduction of the Policy Server, you can apply a consistent and dynamic security policy to PDF documents, and specify the user, usage method, and usage period of documents, and realize secure document management. I can do it now. In particular, document creators can change the security policy at any time after delivery, allowing companies to manage and monitor access wherever documents are located.

  In order to take advantage of the advantages described above, collaboration between the above-mentioned Adobe system and MFP (document scanning, printing, storage) that plays a central role in the office is desired.

As a conventional example, for example, there is a document access control method for reading a document stored in a document DB in response to an access request input via the operation / viewing unit and outputting the document via the operation / viewing unit. For each document stored in the document DB, rules including various conditions relating to reading of the corresponding document are set in the rule DB, each document stored in the document DB is read and analyzed so as to be able to respond to an access request, and the document DB Some of these documents can perform unified access control (see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-240571 A

  However, according to the above Adobe system, every time a PDF file is accessed, the document server must be inquired about the document policy. If any network failure or failure such as the policy server goes down, the document policy is acquired. There is a problem that the policy cannot be applied to a document stored in a box on the file server or MFP. Therefore, in this proposal, considering the security, the following is proposed from the viewpoint of user use promotion.

In a security system consisting of a security server and MFP,
After successfully saving a document in Box of MFP, if you try to manipulate the document, if you cannot get Box document policy due to some network failure, Policy server down, etc.
(1) Do nothing for Box saved documents (2) Show only document name and owner name (3) Apply MFP default policy (minimum policy, for example, browsing only) to enable Box document operation (4) It is characterized in that all operations such as browsing and printing can be performed if it is the owner of the document in association with user authentication.

  With this configuration, even if the Policy server is down, some user operation (with restrictions) can be performed while considering security. In addition, a flexible system can be constructed.

As a means for solving the above problems, in an image forming system comprising a security server and an image forming apparatus connected via a network,
The security server
Register and manage each document policy in association with user information and document ID,
Update a document policy based on a document policy update request from a legitimate authenticated user, or provide a document policy to the user based on a document policy acquisition request,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Means for storing and managing user information and document ID for acquiring a document policy from the security server in association with a Box stored document (image format);
A means for querying the security server and obtaining a document policy based on user information and a document ID;
Means for applying the acquired document policy to the Box-stored document to control access;
When inquiring the document policy to the security server, if the document policy cannot be acquired due to any network failure, security server down, etc., the Box forming document operation is restricted in the image forming apparatus, that is,
It is characterized in that nothing is performed on the Box saved document, or only the Box saved document name and owner name are shown.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the following effects can be expected.

  Even if the Policy server is down, some kind of user operation (with restrictions) is possible while considering security. In addition, a flexible system can be constructed.

(Example 1)
Example 1 is shown below.

  FIG. 1 is a basic system configuration diagram according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, an image forming system including a Policy server and an MFP will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a system having a similar configuration.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a Policy server, which centrally manages each document policy. As a result, secure document management can be realized by dynamically controlling access, revocation, replacement, and user management of available documents after distribution. Reference numeral 102 denotes a user authentication server which controls unauthorized users from accessing this system. Depending on the system configuration, the Policy server may be provided with a user authentication function, and the authentication server may not be established independently. It can be flexibly constructed according to the user environment. A file server 103 can store a document file such as a PDF as necessary. An MFP 104 is capable of copying, printing, and storing a document. Reference numeral 105 denotes a host computer, in which a user mainly operates a PDF document, that is, creates a PDF document, browses, prints, and the like.

  “Document creation and security policy definition and distribution” using this system will be described.

  (1) First, the authentication server 102 performs user authentication. Unauthorized users are prevented from accessing this system.

  (2) Document creator A creates a document on the host computer 105. That is, a PDF file is generated by document creation software.

  (3) At that time, the document security policy is registered in the Policy server 101 together with the document ID and user information. At this time, it is also possible to set an access range, an expiration date, etc. for each user as a security policy. For example, Mr. B (or the group to which B belongs) can refer to the document, but cannot edit the document, and the reference expiration date can be set to 30 days. Thereafter, access control using the Policy server 101 is applied every time the document is accessed.

  (4) Distribution itself is free (file server, e-mail, website), and may be put on the file server or attached to user B by e-mail. Alternatively, the document may be stored in the MFP Box.

  Next, the security policy of the current document creation software will be described with reference to FIG. 3 (document creation software actual setting UI). It is a supplementary explanation of (3) described above.

  First, the following authentication is possible as password authentication.

-Password authentication to open PDF documents
-Password authentication related to printing and editing Next, as permission setting for printing,
-not allowed,
-Low resolution (150dpi)
-High resolution settings are possible. And as a change permission setting,
-not allowed
-Insert / Delete / Rotate pages
-Fill form fields and sign existing signature fields
-Create annotations, fill in form fields and sign existing signature fields
-All operations except page extraction are possible, and various security policies can be set.

  Next, “document acquisition and operation” will be described with reference to FIG.

  (1) First, the authentication server 102 performs user authentication. Unauthorized users are prevented from accessing this system.

  (2) Start a document operation, that is, obtain a document saved in the file server 103, or obtain a Box saved document of the MFP 104. At the same time, after checking the user authority, the document security policy is acquired from the Policy server 101 based on the document ID.

  (3) Apply the acquired security policy to the document to perform access control.

  Next, dynamic security policy change will be described with reference to FIG.

  (1) First, the authentication server 102 performs user authentication. Unauthorized users are prevented from accessing this system.

  (2) If the user authority is OK, change the security policy.

  (3) The access authority is changed according to the changed security policy. Thereafter, the changed security policy is applied every time the document is accessed.

  FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the MFP 104 according to the first embodiment.

  Controller Unit 2000 is a controller for inputting / outputting image information and device information by connecting to Scanner 2070 as an image input device and Printer 2095 as an image output device, while connecting to LAN2011 or public line (WAN) 2051. is there.

  The CPU 2001 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 2002 is a system work memory for operating the CPU 2002, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. ROM 2003 is a boot ROM, which stores a system boot program. An HDD 2004 is a hard disk drive that stores system software, image data, history records (sometimes simply referred to as logs), and the like. An operation unit I / F 2006 is an interface unit with an operation unit (UI) 2012 having a touch panel, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 2012 to the operation unit 2012. Also, it plays a role of transmitting information input from the operation unit 2012 by the system user to the CPU 2001. Network I / F2010 connects to LAN2011 and inputs / outputs information. A Modem 2050 is connected to the public line 2051 and inputs / outputs information. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 2007. Image Bus I / F2005 is a bus bridge that connects a system bus 2007 and an image bus 2008 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts the data structure. The image bus 2008 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 2008. A raster image processor (RIP) 2060 expands the PDL code into a bitmap image. A device I / F unit 2020 connects an image input / output device such as a scanner 2070 and a printer 2095 to the controller 2000, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. A scanner image processing unit 2080 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. The printer image processing unit performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on the print output image data. The image rotation unit 2030 rotates image data. The image compression unit 2040 performs compression / decompression processing of JPEG for multi-value image data and JBIG, MMR, and MH for binary image data. The IC Card Slot 2100 can input / output a key used for encryption / decryption by inputting an appropriate PIN (Personal Identifier Number) code after inserting an IC card medium. The encryption / decryption processing unit 2110 is a hardware accelerator board that performs data encryption / decryption processing using the key of the IC Card Slot 2100. The OCR / OMR processing unit 2111 performs processing for decoding character information and two-dimensional barcode included in the image data into character codes.

  Here, how to use the hard disk 2004 of the MFP 104 will be described.

  The storage area on the hard disk 2004 is logically divided into a temporary area (not shown) and a box area (not shown). The temporary area is an area for temporarily storing the PDL development data and the image data from the scanner 2070 in order to change the output order of the image data and to output a plurality of copies in one scan. The box area is an area used for the box function, and is divided into a predetermined number of areas. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the box area is divided into each area. Each area is assigned to each user or department, and a corresponding box number, box name, and password are assigned to each area. The user can access an area corresponding to the box number by designating the box number, and by inputting a password, the image data in the corresponding area can be read out, printed out, and transmitted.

  As described above, the user designates an area in the box area of the hard disk 2004, stores the image data in the designated area, reads out the image data at an arbitrary timing by the user's operation, prints out, facsimile transmission, etc. The function that can perform this is called the box function.

  Specifically, the box function is divided into three functions: box registration, box printing, and box transmission.

  In the box registration, a corresponding area in the box area is designated from the client computer 105 or the scanner 2070, and image data (PDL development data or image data read by the scanner 2070) is stored in the designated area. At this time, the document ID is also stored. The security policy registered and managed in the Policy server 101 can be traced from the document ID, and the security policy can be applied to the document. In the Box document operation (box print, box transmission) described below, the security policy registered and managed in the Policy server 101 is applied, and access control is performed for the document operation.

  Box printing is a function that designates an area within the box area, reads image data (PDL development data or image data read by the scanner 2070) from the designated area, transfers it to the printer 2095, and prints it out. is there. In the box transmission, an area in the box area is designated, and image data (PDL development data or image data read by the scanner 2070) is read from the designated area and transmitted to the client computer 1004 via the LAN 2011. It is also a function that performs facsimile transmission, Internet facsimile transmission, E-mail attachment transmission, remode copy transmission, etc. via a public line.

  Next, a case that is a feature of the present embodiment, that is, processing when a failure such as any network failure or Policy server down occurs when a document policy is inquired to the Policy server will be described with reference to FIG. .

  (1) First, the authentication server 102 performs user authentication. Unauthorized users are prevented from accessing this system.

  (2) Document creator A creates a document on the host computer 105. That is, a PDF file is generated by document creation software.

  (3) At that time, the document security policy is registered in the Policy server 101 together with the document ID and user information.

  (4) Then, the document is registered in the MFP 104 BOX. At this time, user information and document ID are also stored. The security policy registered and managed in the Policy server 101 can be traced from the document ID, and the security policy can always be applied to the document.

  Subsequently, a processing flow when there is a Box document operation request from the document creator B will be described with reference to FIG. As an example, the case of box printing will be described.

  First, in S701, based on the document ID and user information, the Policy server is inquired about the security policy for the document ID. In step S702, it is confirmed whether printing is OK, that is, whether there is a security policy reply from the policy server 101. If it is a reply, printing is executed in S703. If there is no reply, in S704, only the document name and the document owner name are displayed, and no further operation is performed, or only the default policy of the MFP 104, for example, browsing is enabled. Printing and copying are not permitted.

(Example 2)
Example 2 is shown below. The difference from the first embodiment is that when inquiring about the document policy from the Policy server, if any network failure or Policy server down failure occurs, user information is input from the operation unit of the image forming apparatus, and Box If the document is determined to be the document owner, all document operations such as printing and document transfer as well as document browsing are enabled.

  This configuration has an advantage that various system variations can be proposed according to the user environment.

  The features of this embodiment will be described. In other words, after successfully saving a document in Box of MFP, if you try to operate the document, if the Box document policy cannot be acquired due to some network failure, Policy server down, etc., from Document Creator B Processing when a Box document operation request is received will be described with reference to FIGS. As an example, a case where there is a box print request will be described. FIG. 6 is omitted because it is the same as the first embodiment.

  First, in S801, based on the document ID and user information, the Policy server is inquired about the security policy for the document ID. In step S802, it is confirmed whether printing is OK, that is, whether there is a security policy reply from the policy server 101. If it is a reply, printing is executed in S803. If not, in S804, it is confirmed whether the operation is performed by the document owner. That is, the user information from the operation unit of the image forming apparatus is input and confirmed. If the operation is performed by the document owner, the box print is executed in S803. At this time, if it is determined that the operation is not performed by the document owner, the box print request is canceled in step S805 and the process ends.

1 is a diagram illustrating a basic system configuration of Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an MFP 104 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a setting UI for a security policy function of the document creation software according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating document acquisition and operation according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating dynamic security policy change in the first embodiment. In Example 1, it is the figure explaining the process in case a Box document policy cannot be inquired by some network failure, Policy server down, etc. FIG. In Example 1, it is a flowchart explaining the process in case a Box document policy cannot be inquired by some network failure, Policy server down, etc. FIG. In Example 2, it is the flowchart explaining the process in case a Box document policy cannot be inquired by some network failure, Policy server down, etc. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

101 Policy server
102 Authentication server
103 File server
104 MFP
105 client computers
2000 Controller unit
2001 CPU
2002 RAM
2003 ROM
2004 hard disk
2005 Image Bus I / F
2006 Operation I / F
2007 System bus
2008 Image bus
2010 Network I / F
2011 LAN
2012 Operation unit
2020 Device I / F
2030 Image rotation
2040 image compression
2050 MODEM
2051 WAN
2060 RIP
2070 scanner
2080 Scanner image processing
2090 Printer image processing
2095 printer
2100 IC Card Slot
2110 Encryption / decryption processing
2111 OCR / OMR processing

Claims (5)

In an image forming system composed of a security server and an image forming apparatus connected via a network,
The security server
Register and manage each document policy in association with user information and document ID,
Update a document policy based on a document policy update request from a legitimate authenticated user, or provide a document policy to the user based on a document policy acquisition request,
The image forming apparatus includes:
Means for storing and managing user information and document ID for acquiring a document policy from the security server in association with a Box stored document (image format);
A means for inquiring of the security server based on user information and a document ID and obtaining a document policy;
Means for applying the acquired document policy to the Box-stored document to control access;
When inquiring the document policy to the security server, if the document policy cannot be acquired due to a network failure, in the image forming apparatus, a box storage document operation is restricted.
An image forming system characterized by that.   2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein an authentication server is connected to the same network to authenticate a valid user.   3. The Box saved document operation is enabled by applying the default policy of the image forming apparatus when the document policy cannot be acquired in the image forming apparatus. Image forming system.   4. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the default policy of the image forming apparatus only allows browsing of a Box stored document. The image forming apparatus includes an operation unit capable of inputting user information,
When the document policy cannot be acquired from the security server, user information is input from the operation unit, and if it is determined that the document is the owner of the document stored in the Box, the document can be browsed as well as printed. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein:

Images