JP2006059297A - Wrong transmission preventing device of e-mail - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent trouble caused by wrong transmission of an e-mail by automatically determining whether to transmit or not from a destination of transmission of the e-mail and content of the e-mail. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with a first database for storing information presenting close relation between a destination and source of transmission, a second database for storing a threshold for determining whether to transmit the e-mail or not depending on the close relation, a third database for storing a weight value for determining whether to transmit or not on each of phrases used in a text of the e-mail, a first means for acquiring the threshold depending on the close relation between the e-mail received from the source of the transmission and the destination of the transmission, a second means for acquiring the weight value corresponding to the phrase when the phrase housed in the third database is described in the text of the e-mail, and a fourth means for comparing a sum value of the acquired weight values and the threshold acquired by the first means, and determining that the e-mail can not be transmitted when the sum value exceeds the threshold. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an erroneous transmission preventing apparatus for electronic mail that prevents occurrence of trouble due to erroneous transmission of an electronic mail transmitted from electronic mail software of an information terminal such as a personal computer or a cellular phone.

In recent years, all important basic fields such as economy and defense are highly computerized, and the dependence on information communication networks and systems is rapidly increasing. Accordingly, the dependence on electronic mail, which is the main service of the Internet, is increasing in communication using IT technology.
The great advantage of e-mail is that it can send and receive messages quickly and easily. However, due to its nature, e-mails are sent to the other party without confirmation and leaving misleading expressions. The possibility is high.
Therefore, regardless of the user's intention or the result of confirmation of the transmission of the e-mail program, such a problem is automatically determined from the e-mail destination address and its contents to the right or wrong of transmission to the destination. Development of an erroneous transmission prevention system is desired. By automatically determining whether or not to transmit, the user himself / herself can reduce the possibility of unintentionally transmitting information that should not be transmitted.
This is particularly useful for transmitting information in a mobile phone. E-mail transmission using a mobile phone has a lower psychological burden during transmission than e-mail transmission using a general personal computer. In addition, if it is a transmission with a general personal computer, it is possible to implement it by other means (S / MIME etc.) to cope with an erroneous transmission. Since the technical specifications are limited, it is necessary to effectively implement information leakage countermeasures.

As a known technique for confirming whether or not to send an e-mail to a user, there is an e-mail program transmission confirmation mechanism. Further, as a technique relating to prevention of erroneous transmission of electronic mail, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 below is known. The technique described in Patent Document 1 relates to a method of setting an area as an e-mail transmission destination and restricting transmission for each area.
JP 20002-9845 A

However, there are programs that send and receive e-mails that prompt the user to confirm before sending, but users who are used to the characteristics of e-mail that can be sent quickly and easily are unconscious of program confirmation. As a result, the e-mail may be sent while leaving an error or misleading expression at the destination, which may cause troubles between users.
In order to solve this problem, even when the area where the e-mail can be transmitted is limited, there may be a possibility that each recipient in the area may further receive information. For example, in the case of an organization where the handling category of the handler is defined in a systematic and hierarchical manner according to the information handled in the area, even if the destination is in the same area, the content of the email to be sent is different It is necessary not to send it to humans by mistake.
Further, S / MIME, which is considered as an implementation form on a personal computer or the like as an implementation method for concealing the contents of an email, is technically difficult for a mobile phone or the like.

  An object of the present invention is to automatically confirm whether or not to send an e-mail regardless of whether or not the user is consciously / unconsciously confirmed, and to prevent troubles caused by erroneous e-mail transmission. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for preventing erroneous transmission of electronic mail that can be prevented.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention receives and temporarily stores an e-mail transmitted from an e-mail transmission / reception software of an information terminal operated by a transmission source user, determines whether the transmission is appropriate, and transmits it. An apparatus for preventing erroneous transmission of an e-mail to be transmitted to a destination after obtaining a judgment of acceptability,
For each source mail address, a first database that stores information indicating the closeness relationship between the destination and the sender, and a threshold value for determining whether or not an email can be sent according to the closeness relationship are stored. The second database, the third database storing weight values for determining whether or not the wording used in the e-mail body can be sent by word, and the e-mail received from the information terminal of the transmission source are temporarily stored Then, a threshold value for searching the first database for a close relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination and determining whether or not to send an e-mail according to the close relationship obtained from the search result is set as the first threshold. A first means for acquiring from the database of 2 and searching whether the text stored in the third database is described in the text of the temporarily stored e-mail; If it is, the second means for acquiring the weight value stored corresponding to the wording and the weight value acquired by the second means are summed, and the total value and the first means Comparing with the acquired threshold value, if the total value exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that the e-mail cannot be transmitted, and a third means for returning a warning mail to the transmission source without transmitting to the transmission destination is provided. It is characterized by.
Further, the third means stores the sum of the weight values in the first database as the weight actual value of the email transmitted in the past, and the parent of the accumulated weight actual value and the transmission destination. The threshold value stored in the second database is compared according to the density relationship, and if the weight actual value is continuously below the threshold value, it is assumed that the familiarity relationship has changed in the first database. And a means for resetting and optimizing the close relationship between the stored transmission source and the transmission destination.

In addition, it receives and temporarily stores e-mails sent from the e-mail sending / receiving software of the information terminal operated by the user of the sending source, judges whether or not to send from the contents of the sending, and obtains the judgment that sending is possible. An apparatus for preventing erroneous transmission of emails to be transmitted to
For each source mail address, a first database that stores information indicating the closeness relationship between the destination and the sender, and a threshold value for determining whether or not an email can be sent according to the closeness relationship are stored. The second database, the third database that stores weight values for determining whether or not the wording used in the e-mail body can be transmitted according to the wording, and the data attached to the e-mail according to the data type A fourth database storing weight values for determining admissibility and an e-mail received from the information terminal of the transmission source are temporarily accumulated, and the close relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination is determined from the first database. A first search is performed to obtain a threshold value for determining whether or not to transmit an e-mail according to the familiarity relationship obtained from the search result from the second database. And whether or not the text stored in the third database is described in the body text of the temporarily accumulated e-mail, and if it is described, the weight stored corresponding to the text A second means for acquiring a value, and a search is made as to whether or not the kind of data stored in the fourth database is attached to the temporarily stored e-mail; The third means for acquiring the corresponding stored weight value, the weight values acquired by the second and third means are summed, and the total value and the threshold value acquired by the first means are obtained. In comparison, if the total value exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that the electronic mail cannot be transmitted, and a fourth means for returning a warning mail to the transmission source without transmitting to the transmission destination is provided.
Further, the fourth means stores the sum of the weight values in the first database as the weight actual value of the email transmitted in the past, and the parent of the accumulated weight actual value and the transmission destination. The threshold value stored in the second database is compared according to the density relationship, and if the weight actual value is continuously below the threshold value, it is assumed that the familiarity relationship has changed in the first database. And a means for resetting and optimizing the close relationship between the stored transmission source and the transmission destination.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent troubles due to erroneous transmission. In addition, users can use it without being aware of the existence of an erroneous transmission prevention device, and it is optimized according to the usage trend of their message transmission content, etc. It is also possible to prevent erroneous information from being transmitted in error. Furthermore, customization by one's own intention is also possible, and it becomes possible to prevent erroneous transmission according to the usage form of the user.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an erroneous transmission preventing apparatus for electronic mail according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The erroneous transmission preventing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an erroneous transmission preventing mechanism database 2 and an erroneous transmission preventing mechanism 11 connected to the Internet 17.
The erroneous transmission preventing apparatus having this configuration performs a determination process regarding whether or not to transmit the electronic mail transmitted from the electronic mail transmission / reception program 1 of the information terminal operated by the user.
The erroneous transmission prevention mechanism 11 includes a transmission right determination program 15 for determining whether or not to send a mail to a destination, a transmission destination extraction program 12, a keyword extraction program 13, a data pattern extraction program 14, and a mail for identifying information necessary for the determination. Server function 16 is included.
The erroneous transmission prevention mechanism database 2 includes a familiarity DB 4 for accumulating / managing intimacy with respect to a mail destination, a category DB 6 for accumulating / managing a threshold according to the familiarity, and keywords for determining the description contents of the mail. A threshold value DB 8 and a data threshold value DB 10, a closeness setting program 3 for registering various information related to closeness, a category setting program 5, a keyword setting program 7, and a data pattern setting program 9 are included.

FIG. 2 shows examples of data formats stored in the closeness DB 4, category DB 6, keyword threshold DB 8, and data threshold DB 10.
The intimacy DB 4 includes, as intimacy information, for each transmission destination e-mail address, a category that classifies the relationship between the user and the transmission partner, such as family, relatives, friends, employees, and customers, and each transmission partner in each category. The intimate level for each category that classifies the intimate relationship, special permission keywords (1 to N) to be permitted to be transmitted, and special permission data patterns (1 to N) are stored. Moreover, the weight results (1-N) are stored as the transmission mail weight result information. The stored information is stored by the administrator of the mail server function 16 or the user himself / herself using the closeness setting program 3.
The special permission keywords (1 to N) indicate a keyword that specifically permits transmission even when transmission is restricted by the keyword threshold set in the keyword threshold DB 8 in the transmission content. Similarly, the special permission data pattern (1 to N) is data that specifically permits transmission even when transmission is restricted depending on the data type of the attached file set in the data threshold value DB 10 for transmission contents. This indicates the type.
The weight result information is obtained by storing the total weight value of mails transmitted in the past for N times in time series. This is used to optimize the level of intimacy when, for example, what has been a lover relationship until now becomes a simple friend relationship.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a data format stored in the category DB 6.
The category DB 6 stores thresholds for determining whether or not to send an e-mail for each category and each intimacy level for each category. This threshold is set to a larger value as the familiarity with the transmission partner is higher. This stored information is stored in advance by the administrator of the mail server function 16 or the user himself using the category setting program 5.

FIG. 4A shows an example of a data format stored in the keyword threshold value DB 8.
The keyword threshold value DB 8 stores information for determining whether or not to send an e-mail from the contents of the e-mail, and stores a weight value as a determination criterion for each keyword. This stored information is stored in advance by the administrator of the mail server function 16 or the user himself using the keyword setting program 7.
FIG. 4B shows an example of a data format stored in the data threshold value DB 10.
The data threshold value DB 10 stores information for determining whether or not to send an e-mail according to the type and content of the attached file of the e-mail. The weight value (1 to N) is stored.
This stored information is stored in advance by the administrator of the mail server function 16 or the user himself using the data pattern setting program 9.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5, a procedure for determining whether or not to send an e-mail sent by the erroneous transmission preventing apparatus when the user transmits an e-mail using the e-mail transmission / reception program 1 will be described. .
First, the e-mail sent by the mail server function 16 is received first. This e-mail is not immediately transmitted to the destination, but is temporarily stored in order to confirm the right or wrong of the transmission by each program of the erroneous transmission preventing apparatus (step S1).
The destination mail address is extracted from the temporarily stored electronic mail by the transmission destination extraction program 12. Further, keywords described in the mail text and the attached file are extracted by the keyword extracting program 13, and the data pattern of the attached file is extracted by the data pattern extracting program 14 (for example, if the attached file is a human face image file, its image Is a person image pattern of a level that can identify an individual) (step S2).

The keyword threshold value DB 8 and the data threshold value DB 10 are searched based on the extracted keyword and data pattern, the weight values set for each keyword and data pattern are extracted, and the weight values are summed. The total of the weight values is a criterion for determining whether or not to transmit, but keywords and data designated as special permission in the familiarity DB 4 are excluded from the weight total (step S3).
Further, the transmission right determination program 15 searches the category DB 6 based on the category and category closeness level for the transmission destination set in the closeness DB 4 and extracts the transmission right threshold set in the category and category closeness level. .
By comparing this transmission right threshold with the total value of the weight values calculated in step S3, the right or wrong of transmission is determined. If the weight value is below the transmission threshold, it is determined that transmission is possible, and an e-mail is transmitted to the transmission destination.

If the weight exceeds the transmission threshold, it is determined that transmission is impossible, and an e-mail indicating that an error has occurred is transmitted to the transmission source (step S4).
Furthermore, the total of the weight value of the keyword is compared with the category and intimate level for each category set in the familiarity DB 4 and the weight value calculated in the past. Is determined to have occurred, and an appropriate category-specific intimacy level is automatically reset (step S5).

A description will be given using a specific example of transmission contents.
FIG. 6 shows an example of the contents of an electronic mail transmitted from a personal computer by a certain user, and FIG. 7 shows an example of the contents of an electronic mail transmitted from a mobile phone by a certain user.
8 is an example of information stored in the familiarity DB 4, FIG. 9 is an example of information stored in the category DB 6, and FIGS. 10A and 10B are stored in the keyword threshold DB 8 and the data threshold DB 10. It shows an example of information.

Send e-mail shown in FIG. 6, "Defense Agency" as a special permit keywords in the same project who has been stored in the degree of intimacy DB4, such as "Handle With Care" is set "t-suzuki @ dsg .xxx.co.jp" Although it is an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address, it is erroneously sent to an employee who has joined the same company who has the "dse domain" as the destination.
It is a document related to the Defense Agency, and sending it to someone other than the person in charge is a problem.
The category and intimacy level of the destination “t-suzuki@dse.xxx.co.jp” in this example are “category = employee” and “intimacy level = synchronous”. Further, the category and the intimacy level of “t-suzuki@dsg.xxx.co.jp” as a legitimate transmission destination are “category = employee” and “intimacy level = same project worker”.
The underlined “Defense Agency”, “(Secret)”, and “Caution for Handling” in the underlined portion of the sent mail in FIG. 6 are high-weight keywords, and the weight values for these keywords are shown in FIG. In the example, the total of the text part is “10 + 10 + 20 = 40”, and the total of the attached file part is “10 + 10 + 20 = 40”. Further, the weight value for the data pattern is “20” in the example of FIG. 10B, and the total weight value for the keyword and the data pattern is “100”. Then, the transmission threshold for each category of “t-suzuki@dse.xxx.co.jp”, which is the wrong transmission destination, is “70” in the example of FIG.
Therefore, in the determination as to whether or not to transmit “t-suzuki@dse.xxx.co.jp” as an incorrect transmission destination, “total weight value> threshold”, and transmission is impossible.
If the attached file is encrypted, it is determined from the fact of encryption and the content of the text.
As a result, it is possible to prevent troubles caused by high-sensitive information being transferred to an inappropriate partner.

Next, the outgoing mail in FIG. 7 is an email addressed to “suzuki.1224@xxx.ne.jp” whose category is “friend” and intimacy level is “lover”. .123 @ x.xxx.ne.jp ".
The category and intimacy level of the wrong destination are “category = employee” and “intimacy level = company coworker”. Further, the category and the intimacy level of “suzuki.1224@xxx.ne.jp” as a legitimate destination are “category = friend” and “intimacy level = lover”.
In the example of FIG. 10A, the weight value for “photograph” in the underlined portion in the text of the outgoing mail in FIG. 7 is “5”. Also, the “person photograph” in the attached file is a high-weight data pattern, and the weight value is “60” in the example of FIG. 10B. The total of these weight values is “5 + 60 = 65”. Then, the transmission threshold for each category of “t-suzuki@dse.xxx.co.jp” as the wrong transmission destination is “50” in the example of FIG.
Therefore, in the determination as to whether or not to transmit “t-suzuki@dse.xxx.co.jp” as an incorrect transmission destination, “total weight value> threshold”, and transmission is impossible.
As a result, a person photo that can identify an individual is transmitted only to a partner with high intimacy, and it is possible to prevent troubles caused by transmission of personal information to an incorrect transmission destination.
In the above embodiment, the weight values for both the body data and the attached data are used for the determination of whether or not transmission is possible, but the determination of whether or not the transmission is possible is based on the weight values of only the body data or only the data pattern of the attached file. Can be configured.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the email erroneous transmission prevention apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information format of the database which stored the familiarity information which shows the relationship between a transmission source and a transmission destination. It is a figure which shows an example of the information format of the database which stored the threshold value according to the close relationship between a transmission source and a transmission destination. It is a figure which shows an example of the information format of the database which stored the weight value according to the kind of data attached to the database which stored the weight value according to the wording described in the email text, and the email. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which performs transmission right judgment of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the email which a certain user transmitted from the personal computer. It shows an example of the content of an e-mail transmitted from a mobile phone by a certain user. It is a figure which shows the example of the data stored in a closeness database. It is a figure which shows the example of the data stored in a category database. It is a figure which shows the example of the data stored in a keyword threshold value database and a data threshold value database.

Explanation of symbols

1 E-mail transmission / reception program 2 Mistransmission prevention mechanism database 3 Intimacy setting program 4 Intimacy DB
5 Category setting program 6 Category DB
7 Keyword setting program 8 Keyword threshold DB
9 Data pattern setting program 10 Data threshold DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Mistransmission prevention mechanism 12 Transmission destination extraction program 13 Keyword extraction program 14 Data pattern extraction program 15 Transmission right judgment program 16 Mail server function

Claims (4)

Receives and temporarily stores e-mails sent from the e-mail transmission / reception software of the information terminal operated by the user at the transmission source, determines whether or not to send from the contents of the transmission, and sends it to the destination after obtaining a decision on whether transmission is possible A device for preventing erroneous transmission of e-mail,
A first database storing information indicating a close relationship between the transmission destination and the transmission source for each transmission source email address;
A second database storing a threshold for determining whether or not to send an e-mail according to the intimacy relationship;
A third database that stores weight values for determining whether or not transmission is possible for each word used in the e-mail body;
E-mail received from the information terminal of the transmission source is temporarily stored, the intimacy relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination is searched from the first database, and the e-mail according to the intimacy relationship obtained from the search result First means for obtaining a threshold value for determining whether or not transmission is possible from the second database;
Search whether the text stored in the third database is described in the text of the temporarily accumulated e-mail, and if it is described, obtain the weight value stored corresponding to the text A second means to:
The weight values acquired by the second means are summed, and the total value is compared with the threshold value acquired by the first means. If the total value exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that the e-mail cannot be transmitted. And a third means for returning a warning mail to the transmission source without transmitting to the transmission destination.   The third means stores the total value of the weight values in the first database as the weight actual value of the email transmitted in the past, and the familiarity relationship between the accumulated weight actual value and the destination And the threshold value stored in the second database is compared, and if the actual weight value is continuously below the threshold value, it is stored in the first database as a change in intimacy relationship. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for resetting and optimizing the close relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination. Receives and temporarily stores e-mails sent from the e-mail transmission / reception software of the information terminal operated by the user at the transmission source, determines whether or not to send from the contents of the transmission, and sends it to the destination after obtaining a decision on whether transmission is possible A device for preventing erroneous transmission of e-mail,
A first database storing information indicating a close relationship between the transmission destination and the transmission source for each transmission source email address;
A second database storing a threshold for determining whether or not to send an e-mail according to the intimacy relationship;
A third database that stores weight values for determining whether or not transmission is possible for each word used in the e-mail body;
A fourth database storing weight values for determining whether or not data attached to an e-mail can be transmitted according to the type of data;
E-mail received from the information terminal of the transmission source is temporarily stored, the intimacy relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination is searched from the first database, and the e-mail according to the intimacy relationship obtained from the search result First means for obtaining a threshold value for determining whether or not transmission is possible from the second database;
Search whether the text stored in the third database is described in the text of the temporarily accumulated e-mail, and if it is described, obtain the weight value stored corresponding to the text A second means to:
A search is made as to whether or not the type of data stored in the fourth database is attached to the temporarily stored e-mail, and if it is attached, the weight value stored corresponding to the type of the data is obtained. A third means of obtaining;
The weight values acquired by the second and third means are summed, the total value is compared with the threshold value acquired by the first means, and if the total value exceeds the threshold value, the e-mail cannot be transmitted. And a fourth means for returning a warning mail to the transmission source without transmitting to the transmission destination.   The fourth means stores the total value of the weight values in the first database as the weight actual value of the email transmitted in the past, and the familiarity relationship between the accumulated weight actual value and the destination And the threshold value stored in the second database is compared, and if the actual weight value is continuously below the threshold value, it is stored in the first database as a change in intimacy relationship. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for resetting and optimizing the close relationship between the transmission source and the transmission destination.

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