JP2003271566A - Information transmitting device, information transmitting method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a user's convenience and effectively prevent an illicit use. <P>SOLUTION: The information transmitting device 10 for controlling the browsing of information by users comprises a transmission part 140 for transmitting information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state; a receiving part 150 for receiving the user authentication information inputted by a user in order to browse the information transmitted from the transmission part 104 from one terminal, a decision part 160 for deciding whether the user authentication information is right or not; an authentication history storage part 170 for storing history information in which the history of the receiving part 140 receiving user authentication information is associated with information for identifying the terminal of the transmitter of the user authentication information concerned; and a browsing permission part 190 for laying, when the user authentication information is decided right, the information present in the one terminal into a browsable state on the basis of the history information associated to the other terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an information transmitting apparatus, an information transmitting method, and a program. In particular, the present invention is
The present invention relates to an information transmission device, an information transmission method, and a program that control browsing of information at a transmission destination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Based on a transmission history to a user,
There is a way to control new transmissions to that user. For example, in the transmission of paid content on the web, the web server limits whether or not to accept a new access, based on the history of the number of transmissions and the total download time.

[0003]

However, according to the above-described embodiment, since it is determined whether or not the information can be browsed when the information is transmitted, when the amount of information to be transmitted and browsed is enormous,
Server response is slow. On the other hand, when managing the history of information transmission for each user, it is important to prevent unauthorized use of information that identifies the user. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information transmitting device, an information transmitting method, and a program that can solve the above problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in independent claims of the invention. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

[0004]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an information transmitting apparatus for controlling browsing of information to a user transmits information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state. Section, a receiving section that receives the user authentication information input by the user to view the information transmitted by the transmitting section from one terminal, a determining section that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, and a receiving section. When the user authentication information is determined to be correct, an authentication history storage unit that stores history information that associates the history that the user authentication information is received with the information that identifies the terminal that is the source of the user authentication information. Based on the history information associated with other terminals,
A browsing permission unit that makes the information on one terminal browsable. Further, further comprising a terminal information storage unit that stores information for identifying each of the plurality of terminals in association with the user, the transmission unit, the plurality of terminals associated with the same user selected from the plurality of terminals. When the receiving unit receives the user authentication information from one specific terminal, the viewing permission unit transmits the information to the specific terminal, and based on the history information associated with the other specific terminal, the browsing permission unit It may be determined whether or not to make the information viewable.

The browsing permission unit uses the history information to
When the receiving unit determines that it is the period from when the user authentication information is received from the other terminal until the predetermined time elapses, the state in which the information transmitted by the transmitting unit to one terminal cannot be browsed May be held at. Further, the browsing permission unit may set a predetermined time based on a combination of one terminal and another terminal. In the period until the predetermined time elapses, when the user authentication information is received from a terminal different from the other terminal and the user authentication information in the other terminal is determined to be correct, another You may further provide the alert notification part which notifies alert information with respect to a terminal. Also, the transmission unit transmits information to an external terminal that is a terminal belonging to a predetermined group and a terminal that does not belong to the group, and the browsing permission unit is based on the history information.
When it is determined that the information has been browsed, the external terminal keeps the information inaccessible, and the terminal that is not in the group determines that the user authentication information is correct regardless of the history information. In that case, the information may be made viewable. Further, the transmission unit transmits the information to an external terminal, which is a terminal provided outside the local network, as a part of the plurality of terminals, and the browsing permission unit determines that the information has been browsed based on the history information. If it is determined that the information is present, the information may be held in an unviewable state in the external terminal.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information transmitting apparatus for controlling the browsing of information to the user includes the transmitting unit for transmitting the information to each of the plurality of terminals in the unreadable state, and the transmitting unit. A transmission history storage unit that stores the transmission history transmitted to each of the plurality of terminals and the information that identifies each of the plurality of terminals in association with each other, and the user inputs to view the information transmitted by the transmission unit. A receiving unit that receives the user authentication information from one terminal, a determination unit that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, and if the user authentication information is determined to be correct, it is associated with another terminal. A browsing permission unit that makes the information viewable on one terminal based on the transmission history. Further, further comprising a terminal information storage unit that stores the information for identifying the terminal in association with the user, the transmission unit, to a plurality of specific terminals associated with the same user selected from the plurality of terminals, When the receiving unit receives the user authentication information from one specific terminal, the viewing permission unit transmits the information, and based on the transmission history to the other specific terminal, makes the information in the one specific terminal viewable. It may be determined whether or not to allow it. In addition, when the browsing permission unit uses the transmission history and determines that a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission unit transmitted the information to the other terminal, the transmission unit transmits the transmission to the other one terminal. It is also possible to keep the information that has been made inaccessible.

The browsing permission unit may set a predetermined time based on a combination of one terminal and another terminal. Further, the transmission unit transmits the information to the external terminal that is a terminal belonging to a predetermined group and the terminal that does not belong to the group, and the browsing permission unit determines that the information has been transmitted based on the transmission history. In this case, the external terminal holds the information in a non-viewable state, and the terminal that does not belong to the group can view the information when the user authentication information is determined to be correct regardless of the transmission history. It may be in a state. In addition, the transmission unit transmits the information to the external terminal, which is a terminal provided outside the local network, as a part of the plurality of terminals, and the browsing permission unit determines that the information has been transmitted based on the transmission history. If it is determined that the information is present, the information may be held in an unviewable state in the external terminal. According to the third aspect of the present invention, an information transmitting device for transferring received information to a plurality of terminals stores terminal information for each of a plurality of terminals, which stores a plurality of groups to which each of the plurality of terminals belongs. Section, a processing section that processes the received information in an unreadable state, and, when one terminal belongs to a predetermined group, sends the information processed in the unreadable state to the one terminal. , To view the information sent to another terminal by the sending unit and the information sent by the sending unit to one terminal by the user when the other terminal does not belong to the predetermined group A receiving unit that receives the entered user authentication information, a determination unit that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, and if the user authentication information is determined to be correct, make the information available for viewing on one terminal. Let And a list permission unit. Further, the processing unit may encrypt the information as a process to the unreadable state. Further, an authentication history storage unit for storing history information of user authentication information in each of the plurality of terminals may be further provided, and the browsing permission unit may make the information viewable based on the history information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information transmitting method for controlling browsing of information to a user by a computer, wherein the computer transmits the information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state, A step in which the computer receives from the one terminal the user authentication information entered to browse the information on the one terminal;
A step in which the computer determines whether or not the user authentication information is correct, a step in which the history of receiving the user authentication information by the computer and information for identifying the terminal that is the source of the user authentication information are associated with each other And, if the user authentication information is determined to be correct, the step of making the information in one terminal browsable by the computer based on the history information associated with the other terminal. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a program for controlling information browsing by a computer to a user has a function of causing the computer to transmit information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state, and a computer The function to receive the user authentication information entered to browse the information on the other terminal from one terminal, the function to let the computer judge whether the user authentication information is correct, and the computer to receive the user authentication information. Associated history with information that identifies the terminal that is the source of the user authentication information, and a function to generate history information, and when the user authentication information is determined to be correct, associate it with another terminal on the computer. And a function of making the information in one terminal available for browsing based on the obtained history information. Note that the above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and the features described in the embodiments Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a mail transmitting / receiving system 5. The mail transmission / reception system 5 includes an information transmission device 10
The first external terminal 20, the second external terminal 25, the in-house terminal 30, and the transmitting terminal 40. The transmission terminal 40 is
It is connected to the information transmitting apparatus 10 via a network. The information transmission device 10 is connected to the in-house terminal 30 via a local area network (LAN). Further, the information transmitting apparatus 10 is connected to the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25 via the public line network (PSTN). The information transmission device 10 may be connected to the transmission terminal 40 via a LAN or may be connected via a PSTN.

The transmission terminal 40 sends an electronic mail addressed to a specific user to the information transmission device 10. Information transmitter 1
0 receives the electronic mail from the sending terminal 40 and sends it to the first outside terminal 20, the second outside terminal 25, and the in-house terminal 30. Upon receiving the email from the information transmission device 10, the first outside terminal 20 displays a screen for inputting user authentication information for browsing the email. Upon receiving the input of the user authentication information, the first outside terminal 20 sends the user authentication information to the information transmitting device 10. When the user authentication information is correct, the information transmission device 10 makes the e-mail sent to the first external terminal 20 viewable based on the history information of receiving the user authentication information from the second external terminal 25. . E-mail is an example of information according to the present invention. The information according to the present invention is not limited to electronic mail, and includes, for example, data files, network control information, software update information, and the like.
It may be a combination of these. Further, in the present embodiment, the user authentication information is a combination of information for identifying a user and a password corresponding to the user. Further, the user authentication information is not limited to the above-described form, and may be user personal information, a timed password based on time or random number, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the information transmitting apparatus 10. The information transmitting device 10 includes an information receiving unit 110,
The processing unit 120, the terminal information storage unit 130, and the transmission unit 14
0, a receiving unit 150, a determining unit 160, an authentication history storing unit 170, a warning notifying unit 180, and a browsing permission unit 190.

The information receiving section 110 receives from the transmitting terminal 40
Receive email. The information receiving unit 110 sends this e-mail to the processing unit 120 and the sending unit 140.

The processing unit 120 receives information from the information receiving unit 110.
Receive email. Then, the processing unit 120 makes the electronic mail unreadable by encrypting it. The processing unit 120 sends the electronic mail in the unreadable state to the transmission unit 140.

The terminal information storage section 130 stores information for identifying each of a plurality of terminals in association with a user. Information for identifying each of the plurality of terminals is input in advance by the administrator of the information transmitting device 10. In addition, the terminal information storage unit 130 may periodically acquire the terminal usage status by the user from the outside and regularly update the association between each of the plurality of terminals and the user.

The transmitting unit 140 receives the electronic mail from the information receiving unit 110. In addition, the transmission unit 140 includes the processing unit 1
Receive an unreadable email from 20. The transmission unit 140 receives, from the terminal information storage unit 130, the terminal information associated with the destination user of the electronic mail. Then, the transmitting unit 140 uses this terminal information to determine whether or not the destination of the electronic mail belongs to an outside group indicating a group of terminals provided outside the local network. When the transmission unit 140 determines that the destination terminal belongs to the external group, the transmission unit 140 sends an unreadable email. On the other hand, when the transmission unit 140 determines that the destination terminal does not belong to the outside group, it sends an e-mail in a viewable state.

For example, in the example shown in the figure, the transmitting section 140
Determines that the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25, which are the destinations of the email, belong to the outside group. Therefore, the transmission unit 140 sends the unreadable electronic mail to the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25. On the other hand, the transmission unit 140 determines that the in-house terminal 30 does not belong to the outside group. Therefore, the transmission unit 140 sends the in-viewable e-mail to the in-house terminal 30. In addition, the transmission unit 140 uses the terminal information to identify information that identifies the user corresponding to the terminal to which the electronic mail is transmitted. Then, the transmission unit 140 sends information for identifying the user corresponding to the destination terminal of the electronic mail to the authentication history storage unit 170.

In this embodiment, the transmission unit 140 determines whether or not the destination terminal belongs to the outside group, but the group to which the terminal belongs is not limited to this. For example, the transmission unit 140 may determine whether or not the destination terminal belongs to an in-house group indicating a terminal group provided inside the local network. Further, the transmission unit 140 may determine whether or not the transmission unit 140 belongs to a group predetermined by the administrator, based on the safety and reliability of the communication path and the destination terminal.

The receiving unit 150 receives the user authentication information from the first outside terminal 20. Then, the receiving unit 150
The user authentication information is sent to the determination unit 160. Receiver 150
Is the information on the time when the user authentication information is received and the information on the sender of the user authentication information,
It is sent to the warning notification unit 180 and the browsing permission unit 190. The receiving unit 150 operates similarly when receiving the user authentication information from the second outside terminal 25 and the in-house terminal 30.

The judging section 160 receives the user authentication information from the receiving section 150. The determination unit 160 determines whether the user authentication information is correct. The determination unit 160 sends information on whether or not the user authentication information is correct to the authentication history storage unit 170 and the browsing permission unit 190.

The authentication history storage section 170 receives from the receiving section 150 information on the time when the user authentication information is received and information on the sender of the user authentication information. Further, the authentication history storage unit 170 receives from the determination unit 160 information on whether or not the user authentication information is correct. Then, the authentication history storage unit 170 stores history information in which the information on the time when the user authentication information is received and the information indicating whether the user authentication information is correct are associated with the terminal identification information for identifying the transmission source of the user authentication information. Store as. Authentication history storage unit 170
Provides the history information to the warning notification unit 180 and the browsing permission unit 190 as necessary. Further, the authentication history storage unit 170 receives, from the transmission unit 140, information for identifying the user corresponding to the terminal to which the electronic mail is transmitted. Then, the authentication history storage unit 170 stores the information for identifying the user in association with the terminal. Furthermore, the authentication history storage unit 170 may store, as the history information, the number of errors for which the user authentication information is determined to be incorrect, for each terminal.

The warning notifying unit 180 receives from the receiving unit 150 information on the time when the user authentication information is received and information on the transmission source of the user authentication information (for example, the first outside terminal 20). In addition, the warning notification unit 180 is the authentication history storage unit 1
The history information is acquired from 70. The warning notification unit 180 is based on the association between the terminal and the user included in the history information, and the other terminal associated with the same user as the user associated with the first outside terminal 20 (for example, the second terminal). The external terminal 25) is specified. The warning notification unit 180 uses the history information to determine the time when the user authentication information is received.
It is determined whether or not it is a period from the reception of the user authentication information from the second outside terminal 25 to the elapse of a predetermined time. Further, the warning notification unit 180 refers to whether or not the user authentication information is determined to be correct in the second outside terminal 25 using the history information. Warning notification unit 18
0 is the period from the time when the user authentication information is received from the first outside terminal 20 until the predetermined time elapses after the user authentication information is received from the second outside terminal 25, and the second outside company If the user authentication information in the terminal 25 is determined to be correct, the second outside terminal 25
To send warning information to.

As described above, the warning notifying unit 180 compares the reception time of the user authentication information from each of the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25 to send the warning information against unauthorized access. You can For example, when the receiving unit 150 simultaneously receives the same user authentication information from a plurality of terminals, the warning notification unit 180 can send the warning information. In addition, when the installation state of a plurality of terminals, for example, information such as distance between terminals or moving time is predetermined, the warning notification unit 180 causes the receiving unit 150 to output the same user authentication information from a plurality of terminals. It is possible to judge whether or not it is received at an unnaturally short interval. Therefore, the warning notification unit 180 can send the warning information when an unnatural access is made.

The browsing permission section 190 receives from the receiving section 150 information on the time when the user authentication information is received and information on the transmission source of the user authentication information (for example, the first outside terminal 20). Further, the browsing permission unit 190 is the authentication history storage unit 1
The history information is acquired from 70. The browsing permission unit 190 uses another terminal associated with the same user as the user associated with the first outside terminal 20 (for example, the second outside company) based on the association between the terminal and the user included in the history information. The terminal 25) is specified. The browsing permission unit 190 uses the history information and the time when the user authentication information is received is a predetermined time after the user authentication information is received from another terminal (for example, the second outside terminal 25). To determine whether or not it is the period. The browsing permission unit 190 determines that the user authentication information is correct, and the time when the user authentication information is received from the first external terminal 20 is a predetermined time after the user authentication information is received from the second external terminal 25. If there is, a notification to the effect that the electronic mail sent by the sending unit 140 is made viewable is sent to the first outside terminal 20. On the other hand, the browsing permission unit 190 determines that the user authentication information is incorrect, or the time when the user authentication information is received from the first outside terminal 20 is within a predetermined time after the user authentication information is received from the second outside terminal 25. If it is, the e-mail transmitted by the transmission unit 140 is held in a state in which it cannot be viewed on the first outside terminal 20.

As described above, the browsing permission unit 190 compares the reception time of the user authentication information from each of the first external terminal 20 and the second external terminal 25 to prevent the electronic mail from being browsed by unauthorized access. be able to. For example, when the receiving unit 150 receives the same user authentication information from a plurality of terminals at the same time, the browsing permission unit 190
It is possible to prevent unauthorized viewing of electronic mail. The browsing permission unit 190 also determines the predetermined time based on the combination of the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25. For example, when the time required for the user to move from the installation position of the first external terminal 20 to the installation position of the second external terminal 25 is 10 minutes, the browsing permission unit 190 sets the predetermined time to 10 minutes. Set in minutes. Therefore, the browsing permission unit 190 holds the e-mail in a non-browsable state when it is determined that the plurality of terminals associated with the same user have accessed at intervals smaller than the user's travel time.

Further, the browsing permission unit 190 can impose stricter restrictions on access from the external terminals belonging to the external group. For example, the browsing permission unit 19
When 0 determines that certain information has been browsed based on the history information, 0 keeps this information in a non-browsable state in the outside terminal. On the other hand, in a terminal that does not belong to the outside group, the viewing permission unit 190 makes this information viewable regardless of the history information. Therefore, the information transmitting apparatus 10 can limit the access from the external terminal to only the access with high urgency such as browsing new information. By doing so, the information transmitting apparatus 10 can maintain the convenience of the user and increase the possibility of preventing unauthorized access.

Further, the browsing permission unit 190 may keep the electronic mail in a non-browsable state when the total number of errors in a plurality of terminals associated with the same user exceeds a predetermined value. . Further, the browsing permission unit 190
The predetermined value that is different for each terminal may be set, and the determination as to whether or not the electronic mail can be browsed may be finely controlled. In this way, the browsing permission unit 190 may control the browsing of information by using the number of errors associated with the terminal or the user.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the authentication history storage section 170. The authentication history storage unit 170 has a terminal identification information field, a user authentication propriety field, a reception time field, and a user field.
The terminal identification information field represents information for identifying each of a plurality of terminals that are transmission destinations of the information transmission device 10.
The user authentication propriety field indicates information as to whether the determination unit 160 has determined that the user authentication information is correct.
The reception time field represents the time when the reception unit 150 last received the user authentication information from each terminal. The user field represents information that identifies the user corresponding to the user authentication information. For example, the entry in the first line of the figure indicates that the time (time) at which the user authentication information of the employee A is received from the terminal having S / N 9682345 as the terminal identification information was 8:43.

For example, the browsing permission unit 190 uses the second outside terminal 25 (for example, terminal identification information S / N9682345).
It is assumed that the user authentication information is received from 8:43. Then, the browsing permission unit 190, during the period from 8:43 until a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) elapses, the first outside terminal 20 (for example, the terminal identification information S / N3).
625225) from the user authentication information (received at 9:10). Furthermore, the users who are trying to authenticate at both the second outside terminal 25 and the first outside terminal 20 are the same (for example, employee A). In this case, the browsing permission unit 190 holds the electronic mail in the first outside terminal 20 in a non-browsable state. Further, the user authentication information is determined to be correct in the second outside terminal 25 (the user authentication permission field of the second outside terminal 25 is acceptable). Therefore, the warning notification unit 180
The warning information is transmitted to the second outside terminal 25.

In this way, the browsing permission unit 190 refers to the data shown in this figure to determine whether or not the terminal of the destination of the electronic mail can make the electronic mail viewable. be able to. Also, the warning notification unit 180 can determine whether or not to send warning information to the terminal.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the terminal information storage unit 130. The terminal information storage unit 130 has a terminal identification information field, a user field, and a group field. The terminal identification information field represents information for identifying each of a plurality of terminals that are transmission destinations of the information transmission device 10. The user field represents information that identifies the user associated with the terminal. The group field represents a group to which the terminal identified by the terminal identification information belongs. The second outside terminal 25 (for example, the terminal identification information is S / N9682345) is associated with the employee A. The second outside terminal 25 belongs to the in-house group. Therefore, the transmission unit 140 sends the e-mail in a viewable state to the second outside terminal 25. On the other hand, the transmitting unit 140 sends the unreadable email to the first outside terminal 20 (for example, the terminal identification information S / N 362522).
Send to 5).

As described above, the transmitting unit 140 can determine whether the terminal of the destination of the electronic mail belongs to the in-house group or the outside group by using the information shown in FIG. Therefore, the transmission unit 140 can select an email in a viewable state or an email in a non-viewable state and send it to the terminal.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the external terminal 20. The first outside terminal 20 includes an information receiving unit 210, a user authentication information input unit 220, and a permission notification receiving unit 240.
And a decoding processing unit 250 and an information display unit 260. The second outside terminal 25 and the in-house terminal 30 are the first
Since it is substantially the same as the external terminal 20, description thereof will be omitted.

Upon receiving the electronic mail from the information transmitting apparatus 10, the information receiving unit 210 determines whether the electronic mail is in a non-viewable state. Information receiving unit 210
Sends the electronic mail to the information display unit 260 when the electronic mail is in a viewable state. Information receiving unit 210
Sends the email to the decryption processing unit 250 when the email cannot be read. Then, the information receiving section 210 sends an instruction to input the user authentication information to the user authentication information input section 220.

Upon receiving the instruction to input the user authentication information, the user authentication information input unit 220 displays information for inputting the user authentication information for browsing the content of the electronic mail on the screen. Then, when the user (user) inputs the user authentication information, the user authentication information input unit 220 sends the user authentication information to the information transmission device 10.

The permission notification receiving unit 240 is used by the information transmitting apparatus 1
When the notification indicating that the electronic mail is made viewable is received from 0, an instruction to make the electronic mail viewable is sent to the decryption processing unit 250.

The decryption processing unit 250 receives the electronic mail in the unreadable state from the information receiving unit 210. And
When the decryption processing unit 250 receives from the permission notification receiving unit 240 an instruction to make the electronic mail viewable, the decryption processing unit 250 processes the electronic mail in a viewable state and sends the electronic mail to the information display unit 260.

The information display section 260 receives a viewable electronic mail from the information receiving section 210 or the decryption processing section 250. Then, the information display unit 260 displays the content of the electronic mail.

FIG. 6 shows the information transmitting apparatus 10 and the external terminal 2
9 is a flowchart of transmission / reception of electronic mail performed by 0.
The processing unit 120 of the information transmitting apparatus 10 encrypts the electronic mail to make it unreadable (step S100). The transmission unit 140 includes the first outside terminal 20 and the second outside terminal 25.
Send unreadable emails to. On the other hand, the transmission unit 140 transmits an e-mail in a viewable state to the in-house terminal 30 (step S110).

The information receiving section 210 of the outside terminal 20 determines whether or not an electronic mail is received from the information transmitting apparatus 10 (step S120). When the information receiving unit 210 receives the email from the information transmitting device 10 (step S120: YES), the user authentication information input unit 220.
Accepts input of user authentication information (for example, first user authentication information) (step S130). Then, the user authentication information input unit 220 transmits the first user authentication information to the information transmitting device 10 (step S14).
0).

The browsing permission unit 190 receives the user authentication information (eg, the second user authentication information) from the second external terminal 25 in advance when the first external user terminal 20 receives the first user authentication information. It is determined whether or not the predetermined time has passed (step S150). When the time when the first user authentication information is received is a period until a predetermined time elapses (step S150: Y
ES), the warning notification unit 180 determines whether or not the second user authentication information in the second outside terminal 25 is correct (step S160). When the second user authentication information is correct (step S160: YES), the warning notification unit 180
Sends a warning message to the second outside terminal 25 (step S165). When the time when the first user authentication information is received is not the period until the predetermined time elapses (step S150: NO), the determination unit 160 determines that the first
It is determined whether the user authentication information is correct (step S170). When the first user authentication information is correct (step S170: YES), the browsing permission unit 190 sends a browsing permission notification to the first outside terminal 20 (step S18).
0).

The permission notification receiving unit 240 is used by the information transmitting apparatus 1
It is determined whether or not a viewing permission notification is received from 0 (step S190). When it is determined that the permission notification receiving unit 240 has received the notification of the browsing permission (step S190: Y
ES), the information display unit 260 displays the content of the electronic mail (step S195). As described above, in the present embodiment, the information transmission device 10 can control whether or not the electronic mail can be browsed according to the reception history of the user authentication information.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the information transmitting apparatus 10 according to the modified example of this embodiment. The information transmitting apparatus 10 in this figure further includes a transmission history storage unit 100 in addition to the information transmitting apparatus 10 in FIG.
0 and the warning notification unit 180 are excluded.

The transmitting section 140 includes the first external terminal 20 and the second external terminal 20.
An electronic mail transmission request is received from an information receiving unit 210 (not shown) included in each of the external terminal 25 and the internal terminal 30. Then, the transmission unit 140 sends the unprocessed e-mail processed to the sender of the transmission request.
At this time, the transmission unit 140 sends the transmission history of this e-mail to the transmission history storage unit 100. For example, in the present modification, first, the transmission unit 140 receives an e-mail transmission request from the second outside terminal 25 and transmits the e-mail to the second outside terminal 25. Then, after that, the transmission unit 140
Receives an e-mail transmission request from the first outside terminal 20 and sends the e-mail to the first outside terminal 20. Then, the first outside terminal 20 transmits the user authentication information to the receiving unit 150.

The receiving section 150 receives the user authentication information from the first outside terminal 20. Then, the receiving unit 150
The user authentication information is sent to the determination unit 160. Receiver 150
Sends the information of the time when the user authentication information is received and the information of the sender of the user authentication information to the browsing permission unit 190. The receiving unit 150 is the receiving unit 1 in FIG.
Unlike 50, the configuration is such that the history of user authentication information is not stored.

The transmission history storage section 100 receives the transmission history from the transmission section 140. Then, the transmission history storage unit 10
0 stores this transmission history in association with the information for identifying the terminal of the transmission destination of the electronic mail. Further, the transmission history storage unit 100 sends the transmission history to the browsing permission unit 190 as needed.

The browsing permission unit 190 receives information on whether or not the user authentication information is correct from the determination unit 160. Further, the browsing permission unit 190 stores the transmission history in the transmission history storage unit 1.
Receive from 00. Furthermore, the browsing permission unit 190 receives information on the time when the user authentication information is received from the transmission unit 140. The browsing permission unit 190 uses the transmission history to
The time when the user authentication information is received is the second external terminal 25.
It is determined whether or not it is a period from when the e-mail is sent to the device until the predetermined time elapses. Reading permission section 1
90 is an email if the user authentication information is determined to be correct and the time when the user authentication information is received is after the elapse of a predetermined time from the transmission of the email to the second external terminal 25. Is sent to the first outside terminal 20. Viewing permission section 190
If the user credentials are determined to be incorrect,
Alternatively, when the time when the user authentication information is received is within a predetermined time after the e-mail is transmitted to the second outside terminal 25, the e-mail remains unviewable at the first outside terminal 20. Hold it.

The judgment unit 160 is the judgment unit 16 in FIG.
Unlike 0, the configuration is such that information as to whether the user authentication information is correct is not stored. Further, the other configuration of the information transmitting apparatus 10 is substantially the same as that of the information transmitting apparatus 10 in FIG. Further, the first external terminal 20 corresponding to this modification is also substantially the same as the first external terminal 20 in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the data structure of the transmission history storage unit 100 according to the modified example of this embodiment. The transmission history storage unit 100 has a terminal identification information field, an information transmission presence / absence field, a transmission time field, and a user field. The terminal identification information field represents information for identifying each of the plurality of terminals to which the information transmission device 10 is connected. The transmission time field is the transmission unit 14
0 represents the time when the e-mail was sent. The user field represents information for identifying the user associated with the terminal to which the electronic mail is sent. For example, in the entry on the first line of the figure, the terminal having S / N96823345 in the terminal identification information is associated with the employee A. Then, the transmission unit 140 indicates that the electronic mail has been transmitted to the terminal at 8:43. In this way, the browsing permission unit 190 refers to the data shown in this figure to refer to the time when the e-mail is sent by using the terminal to which the e-mail is sent and the user corresponding to the terminal. You can

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the transmission / reception of an electronic mail performed by the information transmitting apparatus 10 and the non-company terminal 20 according to the modification of this embodiment. Information receiving unit 2 of the external terminal 20
10 sends an electronic mail transmission request to the information transmission device 10 (step S200). Transmission unit 1 of information transmission device 10
40 determines whether an electronic mail transmission request has been received from the first outside terminal 20 (step S210). When the transmission unit 140 determines that the transmission request for the electronic mail is received from the first external terminal 20 (step S210: YE).
S), sending an unreadable electronic mail to the first external terminal 20 (step S220).

The information receiving section 210 determines whether or not an electronic mail has been received from the information transmitting apparatus 10 (step S230). When the information receiving unit 210 determines that the electronic mail is received from the information transmitting apparatus 10 (step S2)
30: YES), the user authentication information input unit 220 causes the user authentication information to be input (step S240). Then, the user authentication information input unit 220 transmits the user authentication information to the information transmitting device 10 (step S25).
0).

The browse permission unit 190 determines whether or not the time when the user authentication information is received is a period in which a predetermined time has elapsed since the e-mail was sent to the second outside terminal 25 (step). S260). Viewing permission section 190
However, if it is determined that the time when the user authentication information is received is not the period in which the predetermined time has elapsed after the e-mail was sent to the second outside terminal 25 (step S26).
(0: NO), the determination unit 160 determines whether or not this user authentication information is correct (step S280). When the determination unit 160 determines that the user authentication information is correct (step S280: YES), the browsing permission unit 190
Sends a notification to the effect that the first external terminal 2
0 (step S290).

The permission notification receiving section 240 is the information transmitting apparatus 1
It is determined whether or not a notification indicating that the content can be browsed is received from 0 (step S295). Permission notification receiving unit 24
0 determines that it has received from the information transmission device 10 a notification indicating that the information transmission device 10 is in a viewable state (step S295: Y
ES), the decryption processing unit 250 decrypts the electronic mail and displays it on the user (step S298).
Thus, in this modification, the information transmission device 10
Can control whether or not the electronic mail can be browsed according to the transmission history.

FIG. 10 is an example of a hardware configuration of the information transmitting apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment. The function of the information transmitting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is the CPU 70.
0, ROM 702, RAM 704, communication interface (communication I / F) 706, input / output interface (input / output I / F) 708, and hard disk drive 71.
It is realized by cooperation between a computer having 0 and a program executed on the computer. The information transmission device 10 is
FD drive 712 and / or CD-ROM drive 7
16 may be further provided.

The program for realizing the information transmitting apparatus 10 includes a transmission history acquisition function, an information reception function, a processing function, a terminal information acquisition function, a transmission function, a reception function, a judgment function, and an authentication history acquisition function. And a warning notification function and a browsing permission function. These functions include a computer, a transmission history storage unit 100, an information receiving unit 110, a processing unit 120,
Terminal information storage unit 130, transmission unit 140, reception unit 150,
Judgment unit 160, authentication history storage unit 170, warning notification unit 18
0, and a program that operates as the browsing permission unit 190.

The programs or modules described above may be stored in an external storage medium. As the storage medium, a flexible disk (FD) 714, a CD-R
In addition to the OM718, an optical recording medium such as a DVD or PD, M
A magneto-optical recording medium such as D, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC card, or the like can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium to provide the program to the information processing system 10 via the network.

FIG. 11 is an example of a hardware configuration of the first external terminal 20 according to the above-described embodiment. The function of the first external terminal 20 according to the present embodiment is the CPU 80.
0, ROM 802, RAM 804, communication interface (communication I / F) 806, input / output interface (input / output I / F) 808, and hard disk drive 81.
It is realized by cooperation between a computer having 0 and a program executed on the computer. The first external terminal 20 is
FD drive 812 and / or CD-ROM drive 8
16 may be further provided.

The program that realizes the first outside terminal 20 includes an information receiving module, a user authentication information input module, a vacation notice receiving module, a decryption processing module, and an information display module. These modules are programs that cause the computer to operate as the information receiving unit 210, the user authentication information input unit 220, the permission notification receiving unit 240, the decryption processing unit 250, and the information display unit 260.

The programs or modules shown above may be stored in an external storage medium. A flexible disk 814 and a CD-ROM 81 are used as the storage medium.
Besides 8, an optical recording medium such as a DVD or PD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC card, or the like can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the first external terminal 20 via the network.

As is apparent from the above description, the information transmitting apparatus 10 can previously deliver an electronic mail addressed to a user to a plurality of terminals associated with the user. Therefore, the information transmitting device 10 prevents the concentration of the load on the network or the server by improving the convenience of the user by delivering the email in advance when the load on the network or the load on the information transmitting device 10 itself is small. Can be made.

Further, as is apparent from the above description, the information transmitting apparatus 10 controls the browsing of the electronic mail at the destination based on the history information of receiving the user authentication information from the plurality of destination terminals. Therefore, the information transmission device 1
When the user makes a plurality of accesses to the same e-mail, 0 can effectively judge whether the access is illegal use or not according to the user's attribute or the installation location of the terminal.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is also possible to include such modifications or improvements in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0063]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user and effectively prevent illegal use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mail transmission / reception system 5.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the information transmission device 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of an authentication history storage unit 170.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of a terminal information storage unit 130.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the external terminal 20.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of transmission / reception of an electronic mail performed by the information transmitting apparatus 10 and the external terminal 20.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of an information transmitting apparatus 10 according to a modified example of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a transmission history storage unit 10 according to a modified example of this embodiment.
The figure showing an example of the data structure of 0.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of transmission / reception of an electronic mail performed by the information transmitting apparatus 10 and the non-company terminal 20 according to the modification of the present embodiment.

10 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the information transmitting device 10. FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a first external terminal 20.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Mail sending / receiving system 10 Information transmitter 20 First external terminal 25 Second external terminal 30 in-house terminal 40 Sending terminal 100 Transmission history storage 110 Information receiver 120 processing unit 130 terminal information storage 140 transmitter 150 Receiver 160 Judgment section 170 Authentication history storage 180 Warning notification section 190 Viewing permission section 210 Information receiver 220 User authentication information input section 240 Permission notification receiver 250 Decryption processing unit 260 information display section 700 CPU 702 ROM 704 RAM 706 Communication I / F section 710 hard disk drive 712 FD drive 714 Flexible disk 716 CD-ROM drive 718 CD-ROM 800 CPU 802 ROM 804 RAM 806 Communication I / F section 810 hard disk drive 812 FD drive 814 Flexible disk 816 CD-ROM drive 818 CD-ROM

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yukiko Oguro             Yamato Co., Ltd. 15-6 Fuyuki, Koto-ku, Tokyo             Soken (72) Inventor Takao Ishida             Yamato Co., Ltd. 15-6 Fuyuki, Koto-ku, Tokyo             Soken (72) Inventor Mika Kuhara             Yamato Co., Ltd. 15-6 Fuyuki, Koto-ku, Tokyo             Soken (72) Inventor Yusuke Kita             Yamato Co., Ltd. 15-6 Fuyuki, Koto-ku, Tokyo             Soken F term (reference) 5B085 AC12 AC14 AE01 BA06 BG02                       BG07                 5J104 KA01 MA01

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. An information transmitting device for controlling browsing of information to a user, the transmitting section transmitting the information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state, and the user transmitting the information by the transmitting section. The user authentication information input to browse the information, a receiving unit that receives from one of the terminals, a determination unit that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, the receiving unit the user authentication information. Received history,
An authentication history storage unit that stores history information in which the information that identifies the terminal that is the source of the user authentication information is associated, and if the user authentication information is determined to be correct, it is associated with another terminal. An information transmission device, comprising: a browsing permission unit configured to render the information in the one terminal browsable based on the history information. 2. A terminal information storage unit for storing information for identifying each of the plurality of terminals in association with a user, wherein the transmission unit corresponds to the same user selected from the plurality of terminals. Transmitting the information to a plurality of specific terminals attached, the browsing permission unit, when the receiving unit receives the user authentication information from one of the specific terminals, associated with other specific terminals The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the information can be browsed in the one specific terminal based on the history information that is obtained. 3. The browsing permission unit uses the history information to determine that it is a period from when the reception unit receives user authentication information from the other terminal until a predetermined time elapses. 2. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information transmitted by the transmitting unit to the one terminal is held in a non-browsable state. 4. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the browsing permission unit determines the predetermined time based on a combination of the one terminal and the other terminal. 5. It is determined that the user authentication information is received from a terminal different from the other terminal and the user authentication information in the other terminal is correct during the period until the predetermined time elapses. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a warning notifying unit that notifies the other terminal of the warning information when the warning is given. 6. The transmission unit transmits the information to an external terminal that is a terminal belonging to a predetermined group and a terminal that does not belong to the group, and the browsing permission unit is configured to store the information based on the history information. When it is determined that the user has been browsed, the external terminal holds the information in a non-browsable state, and in the terminal not belonging to the group, the user authentication information is correct regardless of the history information. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the information is in a viewable state. 7. The transmission unit transmits the information to an external terminal, which is a terminal provided outside the local network, as a part of the plurality of terminals, and the browsing permission unit adds the history information to the external information. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined that the information has been browsed, the external terminal holds the information in a non-browsable state. 8. An information transmitting device for controlling browsing of information to a user, the transmitting unit transmitting the information to each of a plurality of terminals in a state in which the information cannot be browsed, and the transmitting unit includes each of the plurality of terminals. A transmission history storage unit that stores the transmission history transmitted to the terminal and the information for identifying each of the plurality of terminals in association with each other, and the user inputs to browse the information transmitted by the transmission unit. A receiving unit that receives the user authentication information from one of the terminals, a determining unit that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, and the other terminal when the user authentication information is determined to be correct. An information transmission device, comprising: a browsing permission unit that makes the information available for browsing on the one terminal based on the transmission history associated with the information transmission device. 9. A terminal information storage unit for storing information for identifying the terminal in association with a user, wherein the transmission unit is associated with the same user selected from a plurality of the terminals. Transmitting the information to a plurality of specific terminals, the viewing permission unit, when the receiving unit receives the user authentication information from one of the specific terminals, based on the transmission history to the other specific terminal The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein it is determined whether or not the information can be browsed in the one specific terminal. 10. The browsing permission unit, when using the transmission history, determines that a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission unit transmitted the information to the other terminal,
9. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information transmitted by the transmitting unit to the other one terminal is held in a non-browsable state. 11. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the browsing permission unit determines the predetermined time based on a combination of the one terminal and the other terminal. 12. The transmission unit transmits the information to an external terminal that is a terminal that belongs to a predetermined group and a terminal that does not belong to the group, and the browsing permission unit uses the information based on the transmission history. If it is determined that the user authentication information has been transmitted, the external terminal holds the information in a non-viewable state, and in the terminal that does not belong to the group, the user authentication information is correct regardless of the transmission history. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein when it is determined that the information is in a viewable state. 13. The transmission unit transmits the information to an external terminal, which is a terminal provided outside a local network, as a part of the plurality of terminals, and the browsing permission unit adds the information to the transmission history. 9. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when it is determined that the information has been transmitted based on the information, the external terminal holds the information in a non-viewable state. 14. An information transmitting device for transferring received information to a plurality of terminals, wherein each of the plurality of terminals stores which of the plurality of terminals each of the plurality of terminals belongs to. A processing unit that processes the received information in an unreadable state; and, if one of the terminals belongs to a predetermined group, the one of the information processed in the unreadable state is A transmitting unit that transmits the information in a viewable state to the other terminal when the other terminal does not belong to the predetermined group, the user transmitting the information to the other terminal by the transmitting unit. A receiving unit that receives the user authentication information input to browse the information transmitted to the terminal, a determining unit that determines whether the user authentication information is correct, and the user authentication information is correct. An information transmission device, comprising: a browsing permission unit configured to render the information viewable in the one terminal when the determination is made. 15. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processing unit encrypts the information as a processing to make the information inaccessible. 16. An authentication history storage unit for storing history information of the user authentication information in each of the plurality of terminals, wherein the browsing permission unit sets a state in which the information can be browsed based on the history information. The information transmitting apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the information transmitting apparatus is configured to: 17. An information transmission method for controlling browsing of information to a user by a computer, the computer transmitting the information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state; The user receives the user authentication information input to browse the information at the terminal, the computer receives from the one terminal, the computer determines whether the user authentication information is correct, the computer, A step of generating history information by associating a history of receiving the user authentication information with information for identifying a terminal that is a source of the user authentication information, and the computer when the user authentication information is determined to be correct Based on the history information associated with the other terminal, before being in the one terminal Information transmission method characterized by comprising the step of information to the browsable state. 18. A program for controlling browsing of information to a user by a computer, a function of causing the computer to transmit the information to a plurality of terminals in a non-browsable state; A function of receiving from the one terminal the user authentication information input to browse the information at one of the terminals; a function of causing the computer to determine whether the user authentication information is correct; In, the history of receiving the user authentication information, a function of generating history information associated with the terminal identifying information of the sender of the user authentication information, when the user authentication information is determined to be correct, In the computer, based on the history information associated with the other terminal, the one in the one terminal A program characterized by comprising a function of the browsable state distribution.