JP2009088717A - Information communication system, communication terminal, information server apparatus, communication program, information service program, information communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information communication system which performs authentication with higher reliability than before, and performs authentication processing with higher convenience than before. <P>SOLUTION: In the information communication system equipped with a plurality of communication terminals each having an input portion for receiving information inputted from a user, and an information server apparatus for communication relay between the communication terminals, the communication terminal acquires authentication information of the user of its own terminal, and transmits the inputted information and the authentication information to the information server apparatus, the information server apparatus stores authentication criterion information in correspondence with user identification information, determines whether the authentication is successful or not by comparing the authentication information transmitted from a transmission means with the authentication criterion information, and determines whether the information to be transmitted is relayed to a destination communication terminal or not based on transmission/reception condition information for determining whether or not the information is transmitted depending on the fact whether or not the authentication information of the user at the information source is authenticated successfully. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication system, a communication terminal, an information server device, a communication program, an information service program, and an information communication method.

Conventionally, an authentication method for authenticating an e-mail user has been proposed as a countermeasure against threats such as eavesdropping, falsification, and impersonation in e-mail communication. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a method in which biometric information of a user is registered in a server in advance, and mail is distributed after performing biometric authentication of the user at the time of sending and receiving an e-mail.
JP 2001-217863 A

  However, such an authentication method can authenticate an e-mail sender, but cannot identify the person who wrote the body of the e-mail. That is, only the sender of an email can be authenticated, and if the creator of the email is different from the sender, the recipient cannot know the creator of such email.

  Further, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to receive an e-mail, both the sender and the receiver of the e-mail need to be successfully authenticated. It cannot be done. In this case, when a so-called DM (Direct Mail) is transmitted / received, or when the sender and the receiver use authentication means having different methods and standards, the electronic mail itself cannot be transmitted / received.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in particular, provides an information communication system that performs authentication with higher reliability and performs highly convenient authentication processing in the transmission / reception of e-mails. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides an information communication system including a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit that receives input of information from a user, and an information server device that relays communication between the communication terminals. The communication terminal transmits authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of the user of the terminal itself, input information, and authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquisition means to the information server device. A user information storage means for storing authentication reference information for authenticating the user based on the authentication information in association with the user identification information for identifying the user; The authentication information transmitted from the transmission means and the authentication reference information stored in the user information storage means are compared, and the user authentication means for determining whether the authentication is successful or the authentication failure is associated with the user identification information. Information Transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing transmission / reception condition information, which is a condition for determining whether or not to transmit information, depending on whether or not authentication of the authentication information of the transmission source user is successful, and storage in the transmission / reception condition information storage means Transmission determination means for determining whether or not to relay information transmitted from the transmission means to the destination communication terminal based on the transmitted / received condition information.

  According to the present invention, the above-described authentication information acquisition unit includes a creator authentication information acquisition unit that acquires authentication information of a user who inputs information when information is input to the input unit; Sender authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs transmission instruction information when transmission instruction information indicating transmission to another communication terminal is input to the input unit via the server device; It is characterized by including.

  According to the present invention, the transmission / reception condition information described above is obtained when both the creator authentication information and the sender authentication information are successfully authenticated, or at least when the sender authentication information is successfully authenticated, or at least the creator authentication information is authenticated. It is information that determines whether or not to transmit information in either case of success or in the case where both of the creator authentication information and the sender authentication information have failed in authentication.

  According to the present invention, the user information storage means of the information server device described above stores the user identification information that is character string information or image information that can identify the user in association with the user identification information, and uses it. The user authentication means reads and outputs the user identification information corresponding to the authentication criteria information that has been successfully authenticated, and transmits the user identification information of the information transmission source to the communication terminal of the transmission destination, while the information transmission destination User specifying information transmitting means for transmitting user specifying information to a communication terminal as a transmission source, and the communication terminal including a screen display unit for displaying user specifying information transmitted from the user specifying information transmitting means. Features.

  The present invention is a communication terminal having an input unit that communicates with an information server device that relays communication between a plurality of communication terminals and receives input of information from a user, and when information is input to the input unit Creator authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs information, and transmission instruction information indicating that the input information is transmitted to another communication terminal via the information server device A sender authentication information acquisition unit that acquires authentication information of a user who inputs transmission instruction information when input, and a creator authentication information acquisition unit and sender authentication information when information is transmitted to the information server device. Transmitting means for transmitting the authentication information acquired by the acquiring means together with the information.

  The present invention is an information server device that communicates with a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit that receives input of information from a user and relays communication between the communication terminals, and includes user identification information that identifies a user. Correspondingly, user information storage means for storing authentication standard information for authenticating the user, authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal, and authentication standard information stored in the user information storage means are compared. Information is transmitted depending on whether or not the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information has been successfully authenticated, in association with the user authentication means for determining whether the authentication has succeeded or failed. Transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing transmission / reception condition information, which is a condition for determining whether or not, and information transmitted from the transmission means based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means. Terminal And a transmission determination unit that determines whether to relay.

  The present invention relates to an information server device that relays communication between a plurality of communication terminals, and a creator authentication information acquisition unit is input to a computer as a communication terminal having an input unit that receives input of information from a user. When the information is input to the unit, the step of acquiring the authentication information of the user who inputs the information, and the sender authentication information acquiring means send the input information to another communication terminal via the information server device. When transmission instruction information indicating transmission is input to the input unit, the step of acquiring authentication information of the user who inputs the transmission instruction information, and when the communication terminal transmission means transmits information to the information server device And a step of transmitting the authentication information acquired by the creator authentication information acquiring means and the sender authentication information acquiring means together with the information.

  The present invention communicates with a plurality of communication terminals having input units for receiving input of information from a user, and associates authentication standard information for authenticating the user in association with user identification information for identifying the user. This is a condition that determines whether or not to transmit information depending on whether or not the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information has succeeded in association with the user information storage means to be stored and the user identification information. Authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal to the computer as an information server device that relays communication between the communication terminals including transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing transmission / reception condition information, and user information The step of comparing the authentication reference information stored in the storage means to determine whether the authentication is successful or the authentication failure, and the transmission determination means based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means The information transmitted from the transmission unit is an information service program for executing a step of determining whether or not relayed to the destination communication terminal.

  The present invention stores a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit that receives input of information from a user, and authentication standard information for authenticating the user in association with user identification information for identifying the user. A transmission / reception condition, which is a condition for determining whether or not to transmit information depending on whether or not the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information is successfully associated with the user information storage means and the user identification information An information communication method using an information server device that relays communication between communication terminals, including transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing information, wherein the creator authentication information acquisition means of the communication terminal is provided in the input unit When information is input, the step of acquiring authentication information of the user who inputs the information, and the sender authentication information acquisition means transmit the input information to another communication terminal via the information server device. Sending A step of acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs transmission instruction information when the instruction information is input to the input unit; and a creator authentication information acquisition unit when the transmission unit transmits information to the information server device. And the authentication information acquired by the sender authentication information acquisition means together with the information, and the user authentication means of the information server device is stored in the authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal and in the user information storage means Information transmitted from the transmission unit based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage unit, the step of determining whether the authentication is successful or the authentication failure by comparing Determining whether or not to relay to the destination communication terminal.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the authentication information acquisition unit acquires the authentication information of both the creator and the sender and transmits the information, the authentication information of the creator and the sender Is transmitted, the receiver can specify the creator and sender of the information to be received.
In addition, according to the present invention, since it is possible to set whether or not to transmit information from an unauthenticated creator and sender, the receiver can receive information from an unauthenticated creator or sender. Can also be received.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Overview>
First, the outline of the information communication system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The information communication system according to the present embodiment includes a communication terminal 100-1 that is a terminal that transmits an electronic mail, a communication terminal 100-2 that is a terminal that receives an electronic mail, and a network connected to the communication terminal. 50, an SMTP server device 300 that accepts transmission of electronic mail from a communication terminal, a POP server device 400 that stores and stores electronic mail transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1 via the SMTP server device 300, An information server is provided for the authentication server device 200 that performs authentication processing in response to authentication requests from the SMTP server device 300 and the POP server device 400. Here, the network 50 is an information communication network capable of transmitting and receiving information. In the present embodiment, the network 50 will be described assuming a network formed by a LAN (Local Area Network) or a so-called Internet.

  The creator 10 who inputs and creates an e-mail text using the communication terminal 100-1, the sender 20 who inputs e-mail transmission instruction information using the communication terminal 100-1, and the communication terminal Each user with the receiver 30 who receives an e-mail using 100-2 transmits user information to the authentication server device 200 in advance using the communication terminal 100-1 or the communication terminal 100-2. (Step S100, Step S110). The authentication server device 200 stores the transmitted user information.

  Then, when the creator 10 inputs an email text using the communication terminal 100-1, the authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 included in the communication terminal 100-1 is biometric information that is the authentication information of the creator 10. To get. The authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 is, for example, a WEB camera or the like, and captures a face photograph as biometric information. Then, after the creator 10 inputs the e-mail text, when the transmission button is pressed by the sender 20, which is another user, and the e-mail transmission instruction information is input to the communication terminal 100-1, the authentication information The acquisition unit 140-1 acquires biometric information that is authentication information of the sender 20.

  In accordance with the transmission instruction information input by the sender 20, the communication terminal 100-1 sends the authentication information of the creator 10 and the authentication information of the sender 20 together with the electronic mail information input to the creator 10. It transmits to 300 (step S200). Then, the authentication server device 200 performs an authentication process for the authentication information of the creator 10 and the sender 20 received by the SMTP server 300 (step S300). Here, if the authentication server device 200 succeeds in the authentication process, the authentication server device 200 includes user identification information such as image information of each user stored in the authentication server device 200 in step S100 and step S110. The authentication success information is transmitted to the SMTP server device 300.

  The SMTP server device 300 transmits the e-mail information and, if there is authentication success information, the authentication success information to the POP server device 400 (step S400). The POP server device 400 receives an e-mail reception request from the communication terminal 100-2 together with the biological information of the recipient 30 acquired by the authentication information acquisition unit 140-2. When the authentication server device 200 performs the authentication process of the recipient 30, the POP server device 400 sends the e-mail information and the authentication success information to the communication terminal 100-2 according to the reception condition information of the recipient 30 determined in advance. The data is transmitted and received by the communication terminal 100-2 (step S600).

  As described above, since both the creator 10 who has input the email text and the sender 20 who has input the email transmission instruction information at the time of sending the email, the recipient 30 By receiving the authentication processing result, the creator and sender of the e-mail can be specified. Further, since the POP server device 400 determines whether or not to transmit an e-mail according to the reception condition information stored in advance corresponding to the receiver 30 and transmits the e-mail, the receiver 30 is authenticated. Whether or not to receive any e-mail or whether or not to receive an e-mail transmitted from a communication terminal of an authentication method different from that of the communication terminal 100-2 can be changed by setting, and is optimal for itself An e-mail receiving environment can be created. The creator 10 and the sender 20 may be the same person.

<Configuration example>
Next, an information communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal 100-1 according to the present embodiment. The communication terminal 100-1 is an information device used by the creator 10 and the sender 20, and is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). The communication terminal 100-1 includes a screen display unit 110-1, an input unit 120-1, a communication unit 130-1, an authentication information acquisition unit 140-1, and mail software 160-1.

The screen display unit 110-1 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input unit 120-1 receives input of information input from the user. The input unit 120-1 is an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a button, for example.
The communication unit 130-1 communicates with the authentication server device 200, the SMTP server device 300, and the POP server device 400.

  The mail software 160-1 is application software for creating and sending an electronic mail including information such as a subject, a destination address, and a text. The mail software 160-1 includes a mail text input unit 161-1 and a mail transmission unit 162-1. The mail text input unit 161-1 creates the text of the electronic mail according to information input from the user to the input unit 120-1.

  For example, when a “Create Mail” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 by the mail software 160-1 is pressed, a mail creation window is displayed on the screen display unit 110-1, and a mail text input unit 161-1. The body of the e-mail is created. The mail transmission unit 162-1 transmits electronic mail information including the text of the electronic mail to the SMTP server device 300 in accordance with information input from the user to the input unit 120-1. For example, when the “mail transmission” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 by the mail software 160-1 is pressed, the input electronic mail information is transmitted.

  The authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 acquires biometric information of a user who uses the communication terminal 100-1 as authentication information. The authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 is, for example, a voice print authentication device (microphone), a fingerprint authentication device, or a WEB camera installed in the vicinity of a PC to capture a face. Further, the authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 may be a keyboard or the like for inputting a password. In the present embodiment, the authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 will be described as a WEB camera.

  The creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1 acquires user authentication information at regular intervals while the body of the electronic mail is being created by the mail body input unit 161-1 of the mail software 160-1. Here, while the body of the e-mail is being created, for example, after the “Create Mail” button displayed on the screen by the mail software 160-1 is pressed, a mail creation window is displayed and the mail software 160 is displayed. -1 indicates that the pressing of the “send mail” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 is not detected. The creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1 preferably acquires the authentication information at regular intervals. For example, the authentication information acquisition unit 140-1 may be a user authentication device such as a voice print authentication device or a fingerprint authentication device. In the case of a device that requires an operation, it may be acquired when the “email creation” button is pressed.

  The sender authentication information acquisition unit 142-1 acquires user authentication information when an email is transmitted by the mail transmission unit 162-1. Here, the time when the e-mail is transmitted is, for example, when the mail software 160-1 detects that the “mail transmission” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 is pressed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal 100-2 according to the present embodiment. The communication terminal 100-2 includes a screen display unit 110-2, an input unit 120-2, a communication unit 130-2, an authentication information acquisition unit 140-2, and mail software 160-2. The description of the same configuration as that of the communication terminal 100-1 is omitted.

  The mail software 160-2 includes at least a mail receiving unit 163-2. The mail receiving unit 163-2 receives e-mail information from the POP server device 400 in accordance with information input from the user to the input unit 120-2. For example, when a “mail reception” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-2 by the mail software 160-2 is pressed, an email reception process is started.

The authentication information acquisition unit 140-2 includes at least a recipient authentication information acquisition unit 143-2. The authentication information acquisition unit 140-2 acquires authentication information of the user of the communication terminal 100-2 when the e-mail reception request information is input to the communication terminal 100-2. Here, the time when the e-mail is received is, for example, when the “mail reception” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-2 by the mail software 160-2 is pressed.
In the description of the present embodiment, the communication terminal 100-1 and the communication terminal 100-2 are taken as examples of communication terminals, but a plurality of such communication terminals may be used.

  The authentication server device 200 performs authentication processing in response to authentication requests from the SMTP server device 300 and the POP server device 400. The authentication server device 200 includes an authentication processing unit 210, an authentication information storage unit 220, a transmission determination unit 230, a reception determination unit 240, a transmission condition information update unit 250, and a reception condition information update unit 260. Yes. The authentication processing unit 210 compares the authentication information received from either the communication terminal 100-1 or the communication terminal 100-2 with the authentication template included in the user information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220 in advance. Then, an authentication process is performed to determine whether the authentication information corresponds to a predetermined user.

  The authentication process information storage unit 220 stores information necessary for performing the authentication process. FIG. 5 is a table configuration diagram of information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220. The authentication processing information storage unit 220 includes a user (user) information table, a transmission condition information table, a receivable address table, and a reception condition information table.

  The user information table has items of user ID, mail address, nickname, authentication template, user identification information, and unauthenticated mail operation. The user ID is a user account for accessing the authentication server device 200, and the user is uniquely identified by the user ID. The e-mail address is an e-mail address corresponding to the user ID. The nickname is a user identification name that identifies the user corresponding to the user ID. Here, the relationship between the mail address and the nickname is one-to-many, and a plurality of nicknames can be added to one mail address.

  The user ID is uniquely determined for the combination of the mail address and the nickname. In this way, for example, each member of the family can have a different user ID and nickname while using the same email address within the family. In the present embodiment, the creator 10 and the sender 20 are users having different nicknames associated with the same mail address and associated with different user IDs. The recipient 30 is a user in which the creator 10 and the sender 20 are associated with user IDs having different email addresses and nicknames.

  The authentication template is authentication information acquired in advance. The authentication template is, for example, biometric information such as an image such as a face, a fingerprint, or a voiceprint. In the present embodiment, the authentication information is face image information, and is compared by the authentication processing unit 210 with the face image as authentication information transmitted from either the communication terminal 100-1 or the communication terminal 100-2. It is determined whether or not the person is a person. The authentication template may be a password. The user specifying information is information for identifying the user, and is, for example, image information such as a photograph of the person himself / herself. As long as the user identification information is information having a function as an icon (avatar) that can identify the user, the user identification information may not be the person's image, for example, a landscape photograph or a pet photograph. Further, the above-mentioned nickname may be used as user specifying information.

  The transmission condition information table stores authentication condition information when an electronic mail transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1 is transmitted in association with the mail address. The transmission condition information table stores a mail address, a transmission authentication condition, and a creator's multiple-person evaluation criterion. The setting value stored in the transmission authentication condition is any one of “0”, “1”, “2”, and “3”, and FIG. 6 shows a table for explaining the authentication state indicated by each. The setting value “0” of the transmission authentication condition indicates that the authentication is successful when the creator succeeds in authentication (◯) and the sender also succeeds in authentication (◯).

  Here, the authentication information of the sender is for one person, but when a plurality of persons are exchanged to create an e-mail, the authentication information for the plurality of persons is subject to authentication processing. In such a case, the item of the criteria for evaluating the multiple creators is referred. If the information stored in the multiple creator evaluation criteria is “0”, it indicates that the authentication is successful when all the multiple creators have been successfully authenticated. On the other hand, if the information stored in the multiple creator evaluation criteria is “1”, it indicates that authentication is successful when authentication information for at least one of the multiple creators is successfully authenticated.

  The setting value “1” of the transmission authentication condition indicates that, even if the creator fails in authentication (×), the authentication is successful if at least the sender succeeds in authentication (O). The transmission authentication condition setting value “2” indicates that at least the creator succeeds in authentication (◯), and the sender succeeds in authentication even if the authentication fails (×). At this time, the setting value “0” or “1” of the creator multiple evaluation criterion is referred to in the same manner as the above-described multiple creator evaluation criterion. The setting value “3” of the transmission authentication condition indicates that, when the creator fails in authentication (×) and the sender also fails in authentication (×), an email without authentication success information is transmitted as an authentication failure.

  Returning to FIG. 5, in the receivable address information table, the receivable address that is the address of the e-mail transmitted to the user indicated by the user ID in association with the user ID, and the e-mail sender The receivable nickname, which is the user identification name of, is stored. Depending on the setting value stored in the receivable address information table, the user can filter the e-mail addressed to himself / herself based not only on the e-mail address but also on the biometric authentication information. The receivable address information table is referred to by the POP server apparatus 400 when the communication terminal 100-2 receives an e-mail from the POP server apparatus 400.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the transmission determination unit 230 determines whether or not to transmit the email received from the communication terminal 100-1 to the communication terminal 100-2 based on the transmission condition information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220. Determine. The reception determination unit 240 determines whether or not to transmit an email received from the communication terminal 100-1 to the communication terminal 100-2 based on the reception condition information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220.

  The transmission condition information update unit 250 receives input of transmission condition information from the communication terminal 100-1 via the network 50, and updates and stores the transmission condition information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220. The reception condition information updating unit 260 receives the input of reception condition information from the communication terminal 100-2 via the network 50, and updates and stores the reception condition information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220. The transmission condition information and the reception condition information are updated from the communication terminal 100-1 or the communication terminal 100-2, for example, via a WEB application.

  In the reception condition information table, reception authentication conditions are stored in association with user IDs. FIG. 7 shows a table for explaining the authentication state indicated by the setting values “0”, “1”, “2”, and “3” stored in the reception authentication condition. Since the authentication state indicated by the setting value of the reception authentication condition conforms to the setting value stored in the transmission condition information described above, description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment. The SMTP server device 300 is a device that includes a server program for transferring electronic mail. In the present embodiment, the electronic mail transmitted by the communication terminal 100-1 is transferred to the partner POP server device 400 by the SMTP server device 300. The SMTP server device 300 includes a reception unit 310, a transmission unit 320, and an authentication request unit 330.

  The receiving unit 310 receives an email, creator authentication information, and sender authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1. The authentication request unit 330 transmits the email, the creator authentication information, and the sender authentication information received by the receiving unit 310 to the authentication server device 200, and according to the authentication result returned from the authentication server device 200, Control the sending (forwarding) of emails. The transmission unit 320 transfers the electronic mail to the POP server device 400.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a POP (Post Office Protocol) server apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment. The POP server device 400 transmits an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address of the communication terminal 100-2 in response to an e-mail reception request from the communication terminal 100-2. The POP server device 400 includes a reception unit 410, a transmission unit 420, an authentication request unit 430, a POP authentication unit 440, a POP authentication information storage unit 450, a mail box 460, and a mail control unit 470. .

  The receiving unit 410 receives an electronic mail transferred from the SMTP server device 300, an electronic mail reception request transmitted from the communication terminal 100-2, and recipient authentication information. The authentication request unit 430 transmits an e-mail transmission request and recipient authentication information received from the communication terminal 100 to the authentication server device 200, and in accordance with the authentication result returned from the authentication server device 200, Control transmission (transfer). The transmission unit 420 transmits an e-mail to the communication terminal 100-2 in response to the e-mail reception request transmitted from the communication terminal 100-2.

  The POP authentication unit 440 performs authentication using a user account and a password as so-called POP authentication. The POP authentication information storage unit 450 stores a predetermined user account and password for performing POP authentication. Mailbox 460 stores electronic mail transferred from SMTP server apparatus 300. The mail control unit 470 controls electronic mail information stored in the mail box 460.

<Operation example>
Next, an example of an operation in which the information communication system according to the present invention authenticates electronic mail transmission from the communication terminal 100-1 to the communication terminal 100-2 will be described.
In each table stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220 of the authentication server device 200, information related to each user (creator 10, sender 20, receiver 30) using this system is stored in advance. .

  In the present embodiment, the creator 10 and the sender 20 have different nicknames associated with the same e-mail address and are users of the authentication processing information storage unit 220 as users associated with different user IDs. Pre-stored in the information table. In addition, the user information corresponding to the receiver 30 is associated with user IDs having different e-mail addresses and nicknames for the creator 10 and the sender 20. Further, in the information of the receivable address information table corresponding to the user ID of the receiver 30, the mail addresses corresponding to the sender 20 and the receiver 30 and the respective nicknames are stored as receivable destinations. .

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing processing until an electronic mail transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1 is transmitted to the POP server apparatus 400.
When the “Create Mail” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 by the mail software 160-1 of the communication terminal 100-1 is pressed by the creator 10, a mail creation window is displayed on the screen display unit 110-1. Then, an e-mail creation process is started (step S150).

  Here, the WEB camera which is the creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1 starts imaging of the creator 10 who is the user at this time (step S1555-1 to step S155-N (N is an arbitrary number). )). The creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1 captures the creator 10 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 5 minutes) and stores the imaging information. Note that the WEB camera that is the creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1 also stores the imaging information of the user when recognizing that the person who is imaging (the user of the communication terminal 100-1) has changed. It's also good.

  Then, in accordance with the input from the creator 10, the text of the email is input by the input unit 120-1 and the mail text input unit 161-1. When the “mail transmission” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-1 by the mail software 160-1 is pressed by the sender 20 instead of the creator 10, a transmission instruction is sent to the mail transmission unit 162-1. Information is input (step S160). At this time, the creator 10 or the sender 20 inputs a mail address corresponding to the receiver 30 to the input unit 120-1 as a destination of the electronic mail information.

  The e-mail information instructed to be transmitted by the sender 20 includes sender e-mail address information that is an e-mail address shared by the creator 10 and the sender 20 as a sender. When the input unit 120-1 accepts the information that the sender 20 has pressed the mail transmission button, the WEB camera that is the sender authentication information acquisition unit 142-1 takes an image of the sender 20 that is the user at this time. The acquired information is acquired as sender authentication information (step S156).

  Then, the mail transmission unit 162-1 includes the e-mail information in which the text is input by the creator 10 and the transmission instruction information is input by the sender 20, and the creator authentication acquired by the creator authentication information acquisition unit 141-1. The information and the sender authentication information acquired by the sender authentication information acquisition unit 142-1 are transmitted to the SMTP server device 300 (step S200).

  When the receiving unit 310 of the SMTP server device 300 receives the e-mail information, the creator authentication information, and the sender authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1, the authentication request unit 330 of the SMTP server device 300 Authentication request information including e-mail information, creator authentication information, and sender authentication information is transmitted to authentication server device 200 (step S301).

  When receiving the authentication request information, the authentication processing unit 210 of the authentication server device 200 reads the transmission source mail address of the e-mail information included in the authentication request information. And the authentication process part 210 reads the user information corresponding to the read transmission origin mail address from the user information table memorize | stored in the authentication process information storage part 220 (step S302, step S303). Here, since the mail addresses of the creator 10 and the sender 20 are the same, the user information read by the authentication processing unit 210 includes at least information such as an authentication template related to the creator 10 and the sender 20. .

  The authentication processing unit 210 performs biometric information authentication processing by comparing the creator authentication information included in the authentication request information, the sender authentication information, and the authentication template included in the user information read in step S303 (step S303). S304). Here, since the creator authentication information is the authentication information of the creator 10, it matches the authentication template included in the user information read in step S303, and the authentication is successful. Further, since the sender authentication information is the authentication information of the sender 20, it matches the authentication template included in the user information read in step S303, and the authentication is successful. Further, the transmission determination unit 230 determines whether or not to send an e-mail based on the transmission condition information stored in the authentication processing information storage unit 220.

  Then, the authentication processing unit 210, as the authentication success information, out of the user information read out in step S303, the nickname corresponding to the creator 10 and the image information which is the user specifying information, and the user specifying corresponding to the sender 20 An e-mail with authentication success information in which information (nickname and / or image information or both) is added to the e-mail information is transmitted to the SMTP server device 300 (step S305). The SMTP server device 300 transmits the received mail with authentication success information to the POP server device 400 (step S401). The e-mail received by the receiving unit 410 of the POP server apparatus 400 is stored in the mail box 460.

  If the creator authentication information or the sender authentication information does not match the biometric information as the authentication information read out in step S303 in the authentication process of step S304 performed by the authentication processing unit 210, an authentication failure is indicated. (Step S304: Failure). In this case, the authentication server device 200 transmits an e-mail without adding authentication success information to the SMTP server device 300, and the SMTP server device 300 transfers the e-mail to the POP server device 400 (step S402).

  In step S301, the SMTP server apparatus 300 transmits authentication request information including e-mail information, creator authentication information, and sender authentication information to the authentication server apparatus 200. Only the information and the sender authentication information are transmitted to the authentication server device 200. In step S305, only the authentication success information is received, and the SMTP server device 300 authenticates based on the received authentication success information and the e-mail. An electronic mail with information may be generated.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing processing until electronic mail information stored in the POP server apparatus 400 is distributed to the communication terminal 100-2.
When the recipient 30 presses a “mail reception” button displayed on the screen display unit 110-2 by the mail software 160-2 of the communication terminal 100-2, an email reception process is started (step S450). ). Here, the WEB camera that is the receiver authentication information acquisition unit 143-2 captures the receiver 30 that is the user of the communication terminal 100-2 at this time, and acquires the receiver authentication information (step S451). ).

  Then, the mail receiving unit 163-2 is acquired by the recipient email address, the user account, the password, and the recipient authentication information acquiring unit 143-2, which are email addresses that are predetermined for the receiver 30. The mail reception request information including the recipient authentication information is transmitted to the POP server device 400 (step S452).

  When the receiving unit 410 of the POP server device 400 receives the mail reception request information transmitted from the communication terminal 100-2, first, the POP authentication unit 440 stores the user information corresponding to the recipient mail address in the POP authentication information storage. If the combination of the user account and the password included in the mail reception request information is pre-existing in the POP authentication information storage unit 450, an authentication process is performed, and if it does not exist, an authentication process is performed for authentication failure (step S501). ).

If authentication fails in the authentication process in step S501, the POP server apparatus 400 transmits information notifying the authentication failure to the communication terminal 100-2 (step S503).
On the other hand, if the authentication process in step S501 is successful, the authentication request unit 430 sends authentication request information including the recipient email address included in the email reception request information and the recipient authentication information to the authentication server device 200. Transmit (step S502).

  Upon receiving the authentication request information, the authentication processing unit 210 of the authentication server device 200 reads the recipient email address included in the authentication request information. And the authentication process part 210 reads the user information containing the user ID corresponding to the read recipient mail address from the user information table memorize | stored in the authentication process information storage part 220 (step S504, step S505).

  The authentication processing unit 210 performs biometric information authentication processing based on the recipient authentication information included in the reception authentication request information and the user information read in step S505 (step S506). Here, the receiver authentication information is the authentication information of the receiver 30, and the user information corresponding to the receiver 30 is stored in the authentication processing unit 210 in advance. The process proceeds to step S508 (step S506: success).

On the other hand, if the biometric authentication process fails in step S506, the authentication server apparatus 200 transmits an authentication failure notification to the POP server apparatus 400, and the transmission unit 420 of the POP server apparatus 400 sets 0 new mails. Is sent to the communication terminal 100-2 (step S507).
If the authentication is successful in step S506, the authentication processing unit 210 reads the reception condition information corresponding to the user ID acquired in step S505 from the reception condition information table in the authentication processing information storage unit 220 (steps S508 and S509).

  The authentication processing unit 210 of the authentication server device 200 transmits the received reception condition information to the POP server device 400 (step S510). The POP server device 400 receives the reception condition information. The transmission unit 420 reads the value stored in the item of unauthenticated mail operation in the user information (step S511). In addition, the mail control unit 470 of the POP server apparatus 400 reads e-mail information corresponding to the user ID of the recipient 30 from the mail box 460.

  If the mail control unit 470 determines that the read e-mail information is an unauthenticated e-mail (an e-mail that is not an e-mail with authentication success information) and the item of the unauthenticated e-mail operation is “0”, the e-mail information is not authenticated. An e-mail including alert information indicating the presence is transmitted to the communication terminal 100-2 (step S601). On the other hand, if the value stored in the item of unauthenticated mail operation read in step S511 is “1”, the mail control unit 470 deletes the unauthenticated mail (step S512).

  Then, the mail control unit 470 compares the e-mail transmission source information read from the mail box 460 with the receivable address information read from the authentication processing information storage unit 220 corresponding to the user ID (step S513). In the present embodiment, since the mail address corresponding to the sender 20 is stored in advance as the receivable address information corresponding to the receiver 30, the mail control unit 470 transmits the electronic mail transmitted from the communication terminal 100-1. The mail is determined to match the reception condition, and the transmission unit 420 distributes the electronic mail information to the communication terminal 100-2 (step S602). The communication terminal 100-2 displays the user specifying information of the creator 10 and the sender 20 included in the e-mail information on the screen display unit 110-2. On the other hand, if the mail control unit 470 determines that there is a mismatch in step S513, the e-mail is not transmitted (step S513: mismatch).

  In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 100-1 and the communication terminal 100-2 are distinguished from each other. However, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the communication terminal includes a communication terminal 100-1 and a communication terminal 100-2. It may be the communication terminal 100 provided with each provided function. Each function part of the communication terminal 100 is provided with the function of each part of the same name with which the communication terminal 100-1 and the communication terminal 100-2 are equipped.

  The number of users who use the communication terminal 100 may be plural, and in the present embodiment, the creator 10 and the sender 20 who use the communication terminal 100-1 have been described as examples. The creator who creates the email and the sender who sends it may be the same person. In addition, a plurality of creators who create an e-mail may be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the authentication information acquisition unit acquires the authentication information of both the creator and the sender and transmits the information, the authentication information of the creator and the sender Is transmitted, the receiver can specify the creator and sender of the information to be received.
According to this, spoofing can be prevented. In addition, the recipient can filter the received e-mail not only for the e-mail address and text information but also for each individual specified by the biometric information.

  Note that a program for realizing the function of the processing unit in the present invention is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed to perform authentication processing. May be. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer system” includes a WWW system having a homepage providing environment (or display environment). The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the information communication system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication terminal by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication terminal by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the server apparatus for authentication by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information memorize | stored in an authentication process information storage part by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the setting value of the transmission authentication condition by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the setting value of the reception authentication condition by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the SMTP server apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the POP server apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the information communication system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the information communication system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication terminal by one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Creator 20 Sender 30 Receiver 50 Network 100 Communication terminal 110 Screen display part 120 Input part 130 Communication part 140 Authentication information acquisition part 141 Creator authentication information acquisition part 142 Sender authentication information acquisition part 143 Receiver authentication information acquisition part 160 Mail Software 161 Mail Text Input Unit 162 Mail Sending Unit 163 Mail Receiving Unit 100-1 Communication Terminal 110-1 Screen Display Unit 120-1 Input Unit 130-1 Communication Unit 140-1 Authentication Information Acquisition Unit 141-1 Creator Authentication Information acquisition unit 142-1 Sender authentication information acquisition unit 160-1 Mail software 161-1 Mail text input unit 162-1 Mail transmission unit 100-2 Communication terminal 110-2 Screen display unit 120-2 Input unit 130-2 Communication Unit 140-2 Authentication information acquisition unit 143-2 Receiver authentication information acquisition unit 1 60-2 Mail Software 163-2 Mail Receiving Unit 200 Authentication Server Device 210 Authentication Processing Unit 220 Authentication Processing Information Storage Unit 230 Transmission Determination Unit 240 Reception Determination Unit 250 Transmission Condition Information Update Unit 260 Reception Condition Information Update Unit 300 SMTP Server Device DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 310 Reception part 320 Transmission part 330 Authentication request part 400 POP server apparatus 410 Reception part 420 Transmission part 430 Authentication request part 440 POP authentication part 450 POP authentication information storage part 460 Mailbox 470 Mail control part

Claims (9)

An information communication system comprising a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit that receives input of information from a user, and an information server device that relays communication between the communication terminals,
The communication terminal is
Authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of the user of the own terminal;
Transmission means for transmitting the input information and the authentication information acquired by the authentication information acquisition means to the information server device,
The information server device
User information storage means for storing authentication reference information for authenticating the user based on the authentication information in association with the user identification information for identifying the user;
User authentication means for comparing the authentication information transmitted from the transmission means with the authentication reference information stored in the user information storage means to determine whether the authentication is successful or unsuccessful;
In correspondence with the user identification information, transmission / reception condition information, which is a condition for determining whether or not to transmit the information, is stored depending on whether or not the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information has been successfully stored. Transmission / reception condition information storage means;
Transmission determination means for determining whether to relay the information transmitted from the transmission means to a destination communication terminal based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means. A characteristic information communication system. The authentication information acquisition means includes
When the information is input to the input unit, creator authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs the information;
Authentication information of a user who inputs the transmission instruction information when transmission instruction information indicating that the input information is transmitted to another communication terminal via the information server device is input to the input unit. The information communication system according to claim 1, further comprising sender authentication information acquisition means for acquiring The transmission / reception condition information is determined when both the creator authentication information and the sender authentication information are successfully authenticated, or at least when the sender authentication information is successfully authenticated, or at least when the creator authentication information is successfully authenticated. Or whether the creator authentication information and the sender authentication information fail to authenticate. 2. The information communication system according to 2. Of the information server device,
The user information storage unit stores user identification information that is character string information or image information that can identify a user in association with user identification information,
The user authentication means reads out and outputs user identification information corresponding to the authentication standard information that has been successfully authenticated,
User identification information transmitting means for transmitting the user identification information of the information transmission source to the transmission destination communication terminal, while transmitting the user identification information of the information transmission destination to the communication terminal of the transmission source,
The communication terminal is
The information communication system according to claim 2, further comprising a screen display unit that displays user identification information transmitted from the user identification information transmission unit. The communication terminal having an input unit that communicates with an information server device that relays communication between a plurality of communication terminals and receives input of information from a user,
When the information is input to the input unit, creator authentication information acquisition means for acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs the information;
Authentication information of a user who inputs the transmission instruction information when transmission instruction information indicating that the input information is transmitted to another communication terminal via the information server device is input to the input unit. Sender authentication information acquisition means for acquiring
A transmitting unit that transmits the authentication information acquired by the creator authentication information acquiring unit and the sender authentication information acquiring unit together with the information when transmitting the information to the information server device;
A communication terminal comprising: An information server device that communicates with a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit that receives input of information from a user and relays communication between the communication terminals,
User information storage means for storing authentication reference information for authenticating the user in association with the user identification information for identifying the user;
User authentication means for comparing authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal and authentication reference information stored in the user information storage means to determine whether authentication is successful or authentication failure;
In correspondence with the user identification information, transmission / reception condition information that is a condition for determining whether or not to transmit the information is stored depending on whether or not the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information is successful. Transmission / reception condition information storage means;
Based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means, transmission determination means for determining whether or not to relay the information transmitted from the transmission means to a destination communication terminal;
An information server device comprising: Communicating with an information server device that relays communication between a plurality of communication terminals, the computer as the communication terminal having an input unit that receives input of information from a user,
A step of acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs the information when the creator authentication information acquiring means inputs the information to the input unit;
When transmission instruction information indicating that the sender authentication information acquisition means transmits the input information to another communication terminal via the information server device is input to the input unit, the transmission instruction information Obtaining the authentication information of the user who inputs
A step of transmitting the authentication information acquired by the creator authentication information acquisition unit and the sender authentication information acquisition unit together with the information when the communication terminal transmission unit transmits the information to the information server device;
Communication program that executes It communicates with a plurality of communication terminals having an input unit for receiving input of information from the user, and stores authentication standard information for authenticating the user in association with the user identification information for identifying the user. A condition that determines whether or not to transmit the information according to whether or not the authentication of the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information succeeds in association with the user information storage means and the user identification information. Transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing certain transmission / reception condition information, and a computer as an information server device that relays communication between the communication terminals,
The user authentication means comparing the authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal with the authentication standard information stored in the user information storage means to determine whether the authentication is successful or unsuccessful;
A step of determining whether or not the transmission determination means relays the information transmitted from the transmission means to a destination communication terminal based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means;
An information service program that executes A plurality of communication terminals having an input unit for receiving input of information from a user, and a user who stores authentication standard information for authenticating the user in association with the user identification information for identifying the user Transmission / reception that is a condition for determining whether to transmit the information according to whether the authentication of the authentication information of the user who transmitted the information is successful in association with the information storage means and the user identification information An information communication method using an information server device that relays communication between the communication terminals, including transmission / reception condition information storage means for storing condition information,
Of the communication terminal,
A step of acquiring authentication information of a user who inputs the information when the creator authentication information acquiring means inputs the information to the input unit;
When transmission instruction information indicating that the sender authentication information acquisition means transmits the input information to another communication terminal via the information server device is input to the input unit, the transmission instruction information Obtaining the authentication information of the user who inputs
A step of transmitting the authentication information acquired by the creator authentication information acquisition unit and the sender authentication information acquisition unit together with the information when the transmission unit transmits the information to the information server device;
Of the information server device,
The user authentication means comparing the authentication information transmitted from the communication terminal with the authentication standard information stored in the user information storage means to determine whether the authentication is successful or unsuccessful;
A step of determining whether or not the transmission determination means relays the information transmitted from the transmission means to a destination communication terminal based on the transmission / reception condition information stored in the transmission / reception condition information storage means;
An information communication method comprising:

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