JP2008033697A - Data transmission and reception apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To urge a transmission source side to encrypt an unencrypted received mail. <P>SOLUTION: A transmission and reception part 3 receives e-mail from the outside and also returns a prescribed reply mail to the transmission source. An encryption determining part 5 decrypts the received mail and determines whether the received mail is encrypted or not. A received data processing part 7 outputs print image data with an indicator corresponding to encryption in the received mail. A reply control part 13 controls the transmission of the transmission and reception part 3 so as to send a reply including a content which urges the re-transmission of an encrypted mail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a data transmission / reception apparatus, for example, a data transmission / reception apparatus that handles transmission / reception of data on the Internet, and more particularly, to an improvement in a data transmission / reception apparatus that handles encrypted data.

  In recent years, with the rapid expansion of the Internet, which is an open communication connection environment, and the number of users, the security of data exchanged on the Internet, that is, various problems such as unauthorized use, impersonation, eavesdropping, e-mail bombs, spam, etc. The countermeasures are becoming important.

  Conventionally, in order to ensure security against such injustice, for example, a configuration as disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-303185) has been proposed.

This Patent Document 1 determines whether or not a received document has been encrypted, and is configured to output encrypted information in association with the received document, and whether or not the received document is via the Internet. Furthermore, it is possible to inform the receiver of the verification result of the encryption method and the electronic signature so as to give the receiver peace of mind.
JP2003-303185A

  However, in Patent Document 1 described above, information on whether or not a received document is encrypted is merely notified to the receiver, and encrypted communication is not promoted on the transmission side.

  On the other hand, in order to ensure security when receiving various data on the Internet, it is extremely important to have the sender send encrypted data in addition to taking various measures on the receiving side. There is a need for ingenuity regarding cooperation between the receiving side and the sender side.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission / reception apparatus capable of encouraging a transmission source side to encrypt when received data is not encrypted.

  In order to solve such a problem, a data transmission / reception apparatus according to the present invention includes a transmission / reception unit configured to receive electronic data from the outside and to be able to send back predetermined reply data to the transmission source, and the received data And determining whether or not the received data is encrypted, and when the encryption determining unit determines that the received data is not encrypted, the encrypted data is retransmitted. A reply control unit that controls transmission / reception of the transmission / reception unit so as to return the reply data including the prompting content.

  And in this invention, the structure which controls transmission so that the said reply control part attaches its own public key and replies is also possible.

  Further, in the present invention, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the reply control unit controls transmission so that the reception result is described and returned.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, a configuration having a reception data processing unit for outputting print image data with a display corresponding to the presence or absence of encryption of the reception data is also possible.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, a configuration in which the received data is that of an Internet facsimile is possible.

  Such a data transmission / reception device according to the present invention forms a transmission / reception unit that receives electronic data from the outside and can send back predetermined reply data to the transmission source, decodes the reception data, and receives the reception data. Is determined by the encryption determination unit, and when the encryption determination unit determines that the received data is not encrypted, the reply data including the content prompting the retransmission of the encrypted data is received. Since the transmission / reception unit controls transmission of the transmission / reception unit so as to send a reply, when the received data is not encrypted, it is easy to encourage the transmission side to perform encryption and improve security on the Internet.

  In the configuration in which the reply control unit transmits and controls the transmission / reception unit so as to send a reply with its own public key attached, it is easy to encrypt and retransmit the data on the transmission side.

  In addition, in the configuration in which the reply control unit transmits and controls the transmission / reception unit so that the reception result is described and returned, there is an advantage that the reception side can be shown to the transmission source and the implementation of encrypted retransmission can be promoted

  Further, in a configuration having a reception data processing unit that outputs a print image data with a display corresponding to the presence / absence of encryption of the received data, the reception side determines whether the received data is encrypted via printing or the like. It can be confirmed.

  Furthermore, in the configuration in which the received data is of an Internet facsimile, it is possible to communicate document data and the like with improved security on the Internet.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a data transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a transmission / reception unit 3, an encryption determination unit 5, a received data processing unit 7, a display unit 9, a printing unit 11, a reply control unit 13, a CPU 15 and a ROM / RAM 17 are connected via a bus 1. In addition, under the control of the CPU 15, the transmission / reception unit 3, the encryption determination unit 5, the received data processing unit 7, the display unit 9, the printing unit 11, and the reply control unit 13 are operated.

  The transmission / reception unit 3 is connected to a network (Internet) 19 via a wired or wireless connection, and electronically communicates with an external computer (not shown) in a format such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) or HTTP (Hypter Text Transfer Protocol). It has an interface function for sending and receiving data such as mail, and decrypts the received mail and outputs it to the encryption determination unit 5 and the received data processing unit 7, and encodes or sends the outgoing mail from the reply control unit 13 It has a function of modulating and transmitting to the network 19 toward the source address.

  The encryption determination unit 5 has a function of determining whether or not the received mail is encrypted under the control of the CPU 15, and displays the encrypted data indicating whether or not the received mail is encrypted. A function of outputting to the unit 9, the printing unit 11, and the reply control unit 13.

The function of determining the presence or absence of encryption is performed by a conventionally known method. For example,
E-mail encryption and digital signature technologies such as S / MIME (Secure / Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) are used, and these are defined in documents issued by RFC2630 to RFC2633 of the Standardization Organization (IETF).

  The received data processing unit 7 generates print image data from the received mail. The received data processing unit 7 has a function of outputting the generated print image data to the printing unit 11 and the reply control unit 13 and outputting a part thereof to the display unit 9. Have. If the received mail is encrypted, it is decrypted with a secret key from the ROM / RAM 17, for example.

  The received data processing unit 7 displays a display indicating whether or not the received mail is encrypted based on the encryption information, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, display A “with encryption” or “without encryption” The encryption mark is also added to the print image data.

  The display unit 9 is, for example, a liquid crystal type touch operation display panel (not shown) arranged in a main body case of an electronic apparatus equipped with the data transmitting / receiving apparatus of the present invention. It is what is displayed.

  The printing unit 11 is a conventionally known print engine that prints print image data based on, for example, a print instruction from the operation display panel, and can be formed to automatically print the print image data without the print instruction. .

  If the encryption information from the encryption determination unit 5 determines that the received mail is not encrypted, the reply control unit 13 encrypts the received mail and sends the information to be sent again after transmission, for example, “encryption "Resend again", and a function of controlling transmission of the transmission / reception unit 3 so as to read and attach its own public key from the ROM / RAM 17 and send it back.

  The reply control unit 13 can also encrypt the reply mail with a common key or the like, for example.

  The public key is a so-called public key encryption technique, corresponds to the private key on the receiving side, is stored in the ROM / RAM 17 in advance, and is sent to the reply mail by the reply control unit 13 under the control of the CPU 15. Attached as an attached file or displayed in a reply mail. Whether to attach as a separate file or display and attach in a reply mail is instructed from the operation display panel, for example.

  The reply control unit 13 also has a function of controlling transmission / reception of the transmission / reception unit 3 so that the contents of the received mail are displayed and a reply mail is returned.

  The CPU 15 has a data transmission / reception function by the transmission / reception unit 3, a function for determining whether the received mail is encrypted by the encryption determination unit 5, a function for generating print image data from the received mail by the reception data processing unit 7, a display function by the display unit 9, printing The print image data printing function by the unit 11 and the reply mail creation function for encouraging the encrypted mail to be retransmitted by the reply control unit 13 are controlled.

  The ROM / RAM 17 stores an operation program of the CPU 15 and temporarily stores data being operated by the CPU 15 as well as the above-described pair key of the public key and the private key. Under the control of reading and writing.

  Next, the operation of the data transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the transmission / reception unit 3 receives mail from the network 19 in step S1, it is determined in step S2 whether the received mail is encrypted by the encryption determination unit 5, and the received mail is encrypted. If YES, the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the received mail is not encrypted and if step S2 is NO, in step S3, a reply (content) prompting the reply control unit 13 to resend the encrypted mail based on the encrypted information A mail is created, and its own public key is read from the ROM / RAM 17 and attached, and a reply mail is sent to the transmission / reception unit 3 with the contents received once. From the transmission / reception unit 3 via the network 19 in step S4 Send to sender and exit.

  Thereafter, if a print instruction is given from the outside, the received data processing unit 7 generates print image data from the received mail, and the display unit 9 displays whether the received mail is encrypted or not. At 11, the print image data is printed as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the data transmission / reception apparatus according to the present invention receives the electronic data from the outside and decodes the received mail, and the transmission / reception unit 3 formed so that a predetermined reply mail can be returned to the transmission source. An encryption determination unit 5 that determines whether or not the received mail is encrypted, a reply control unit 13 that controls transmission / reception of the transmission / reception unit 3 so as to send back a message prompting retransmission of the encrypted mail, A reception data processing unit 7 is provided for outputting print image data with a display A corresponding to the presence or absence of encryption.

  Therefore, when the received mail is not encrypted, it is possible to automatically reply to the sender side with the public key attached, and to send the encrypted mail from the sender side again. In addition, it is easy to encrypt and retransmit the mail on the transmission side, and it is possible to achieve automatic cooperation between the reception side and the transmission side, and it is easy to improve security on the Internet.

  Moreover, since it is possible to print with display A corresponding to the presence / absence of encryption of the received mail, it is easy for the receiving side to check whether the received mail is encrypted, and the contents describing the reception result are also returned. Therefore, there is an advantage that the reception state is indicated to the transmission side and the necessity of encrypted retransmission is strongly urged. However, the reception data processing unit 7 is not essential.

  By the way, the reply control unit 13 in the data transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention has a function of creating a reply mail with a content that prompts to re-send the mail by encrypting at least the received mail based on the encryption information and controlling the transmission / reception unit 3 to transmit , The object of the present invention can be achieved, and it is not always necessary to attach the public key or the contents of the received mail.

  In the embodiment of the data transmitting / receiving apparatus according to the present invention described above, mail transmission / reception has been described as an example. However, in the present invention, not only electronic mail but also document data and print jobs exchanged over a network and other electronic data widely. It is applicable to.

  In particular, in Internet facsimile, if the received mail is encrypted or digitally signed, the document data can be safely distributed to the Internet for the user. Therefore, the data transmission / reception apparatus of the present invention improves the security on the Internet. In this state, document data can be communicated and useful.

  The exhaust apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a printer, and is preferably mounted on various devices.

It is a block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the data transmitter / receiver which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement in the data transmitter / receiver of FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the data transmitting / receiving apparatus of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bus 3 Transmission / reception part 5 Encryption determination part 7 Reception data processing part 9 Display part 11 Printing part 13 Reply control part 15 CPU
17 ROM / RAM
19 Network (Internet)

Claims (5)

A transmission / reception unit that is configured to receive electronic data from the outside and to be able to send back predetermined reply data to the transmission source;
An encryption determination unit that decrypts the received data and determines whether the received data is encrypted;
A reply control unit that controls transmission of the transmission / reception unit so as to send back the reply data including a content that prompts retransmission of the encrypted data when the encryption determination unit determines that the received data is not encrypted; ,
A data transmitting / receiving apparatus comprising: The data transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reply control unit controls transmission of the transmission / reception unit so as to send a reply with its own public key attached. The data transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reply control unit controls transmission of the transmission / reception unit so as to reply with a reception result. The data transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a reception data processing unit that outputs a print image data with a display corresponding to whether or not the reception data is encrypted. The data transmission / reception apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception data is for an Internet facsimile.

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