JP2017102736A - Portable storage medium and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable storage medium capable of allowing a user to easily manage and comprehend the storing state of data.SOLUTION: A disclosed portable storage medium 20 includes: a storage part 21 that stores data; a transmission reception part 25; and a control unit 26 that generates a piece of meta information as a piece of information relevant to the data stored in the storage part 21, encrypts the generated meta information by a predetermined encryption method which can be decrypted by a management server 40 and transmits the same to the management server 40 via the transmission reception part 25.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable storage medium that stores data and a control method thereof.

  In recent years, storage media (portable storage media) that can be carried and transported by users, such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory (Non-patent Document 1), portable HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like have been carried around. Is widely used because of its high convenience.

“USB memory for smartphones and tablets“ U3-DBL series ”” [October 30, 2015 search], Internet <URL: http://www.iodata.jp/product/smartphone/goods/u3-dbl/index .htm>

  Managing and grasping the storage status of data, such as whether data is stored in a portable storage medium and what data is stored in a portable storage medium, is the transport of a portable storage medium. It is very important in deciding what kind of response to take when carrying (carrying) or losing. However, until now, the management of the data storage status of the portable storage medium depends on the user's memory when operating the portable storage medium (for example, when writing data), or the data in the portable storage medium is stored. In order to manage the storage status of data in the information processing terminal that writes and deletes data, a special system installed in a specific location such as a company has been introduced. It was difficult to grasp. In particular, for example, when a company employee uses a portable storage medium at a location outside the company, the company manages the data storage status (storage status not only for moving data at a specific location) on the company side. It was difficult to figure out.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and provide a portable storage medium that can easily manage and grasp the data storage state and a control method thereof.

  In order to solve the above problems, a portable storage medium according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores data, a communication unit that can communicate with a management device that manages a storage state of data in the portable storage medium, and the storage Meta information that is information related to data stored in the unit is generated, the generated meta information is encrypted by a predetermined encryption method that can be decrypted by the management device, and the management is performed via the communication unit And a control unit that transmits to the apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problems, a method for controlling a portable storage medium according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores data, and a communication unit that can communicate with a management device that manages a storage state of data in the portable storage medium. A method for controlling a portable storage medium, comprising: generating meta information that is information related to data stored in the storage unit; and a predetermined decodable decryption of the generated meta information by the management device And encrypting with the encryption method and transmitting to the management device via the communication unit.

  According to the portable storage medium and the control method thereof according to the present invention, it is possible to easily manage and grasp the data storage status.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information processing system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the meta information preservation | save table with which the communication terminal shown in FIG. 1 is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance of the portable storage medium shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows notionally the operation | movement of the information processing system shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing meta information generation and transmission operations of the portable storage medium shown in FIG. 1.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The information processing system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an information processing terminal 10, a portable storage medium 20, a communication terminal 30, and a management server 40. The management server 40 is an example of a management device. In the following description, the portable storage medium 20 will be described using an example of a USB memory.

  The information processing terminal 10 is a device that performs predetermined information processing such as a PC (Personal Computer). The information processing terminal 10 is provided with a management application for writing data to the portable storage medium 20 and deleting stored data. The information processing terminal 10 transmits data to the portable storage medium 20 via the USB interface. Write and delete stored data.

  The portable storage medium 20 stores data, deletes stored data, and the like under the control of the information processing terminal 10. In addition, the portable storage medium 20 includes a built-in application for generating and encrypting meta-information that is related to the stored data and that can identify the data. Meta information is generated, encrypted by an encryption method that can be decrypted by the management server 40, and transmitted to the communication terminal 30. Specific examples of the meta information include a data title, a data management classification, and a part or all of the hashed data. A specific example of the encryption method is a public key method.

  In addition, the portable storage medium 20 may have a timekeeping function, and may transmit date and time information (date and time) at the time of generating meta information to the communication terminal 30 as accompanying information together with the meta information. Moreover, the portable storage medium 20 may have a position detection function, and may transmit the position information at the time of generating meta information to the communication terminal 30 as accompanying information. The position information can be acquired based on, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal.

  The communication terminal 30 is a terminal having a communication function via a network, and is a terminal carried by a user of the portable storage medium 20 such as a smartphone or a mobile phone. The communication terminal 30 can communicate with the portable storage medium 20 using WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like. The communication terminal 30 includes a management application for storing meta information, and receives and stores (stores) meta information transmitted from the portable storage medium 20. In addition, the communication terminal 30 transmits the stored meta information to the management server 40 via the network. When the meta information is transmitted from the portable storage medium 20 at a predetermined time interval, the communication terminal 30 may sequentially store the transmitted meta information, or only the latest meta information. May be saved.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a meta information storage table in which the communication terminal 30 stores meta information. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that date information and position information at the time of generating meta information are transmitted to the communication terminal 30 as accompanying information.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 30 associates and stores the date and time information (date and time) and position information when meta information is generated, which is accompanying information, and the received meta information.

  By managing the date information and position information at the time of generating the meta information in association with the meta information, it is possible to grasp the storage status of the data at each date and each position. Therefore, for example, even when the user operates the portable storage medium 20 at a location outside the company, the storage status of the data can be grasped.

  As described above, the meta information and the accompanying information are encrypted by the portable storage medium 20. The communication terminal 30 stores these pieces of information without decrypting them. By doing so, even when the communication terminal 30 is lost, it is possible to prevent such information from leaking to a third party.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the management server 40 is a device for managing the storage status of data in the portable storage medium 20, and receives and stores meta information transmitted from the communication terminal 30 via the network. To do. As described above, the meta information is encrypted by the portable storage medium 20. The management server 40 includes a management application for generating a key (secret key) for decrypting the encrypted meta information, and the meta information as necessary (for example, in response to a request from the administrator). A key for decrypting is generated. In addition, the management server 40 includes a management application for decrypting the stored meta information with the generated key, and acquires the original meta information by decrypting the stored meta information with the generated key. To do. Then, the management server 40 presents the acquired meta information to an administrator or the like.

  Next, the configuration of the portable storage medium 20 will be described. Note that the configurations of the information processing terminal 10, the communication terminal 30, and the management server 40 are not directly related to the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the portable storage medium 20 includes a storage unit 21, a fingerprint sensor 22, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) light 23, transmission / reception units 24 and 25, and a control unit 26. The fingerprint sensor 22 is an example of an authentication unit, the LED light 23 is an example of a notification unit, and the transmission / reception unit 25 is an example of a communication unit.

  The storage unit 21 is a storage area in which data can be written (stored) and deleted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the fingerprint sensor 22 is provided on the outer surface of the casing of the portable storage medium 20, and is a sensor for reading a user's fingerprint. The fingerprint sensor 22 outputs the fingerprint data of the read fingerprint to the control unit 26.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the LED light 23 is a light emitting unit provided on the outer surface of the casing of the portable storage medium 20, and notifies the user of the portable storage medium 20 according to the light emission mode. It can be carried out.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, the transmission / reception unit 24 exchanges data with the information processing terminal 10 via the USB interface. The transmission / reception unit 24 outputs data received from the information processing terminal 10 via the USB interface to the control unit 26.

  The transmission / reception unit 25 is a communication unit for communicating with the communication terminal 30 using WiFi, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

  The control unit 26 controls the operation of the entire portable storage medium 20. For example, when data is output from the transmission / reception unit 24, the control unit 26 stores the data in the storage unit 21. Further, when a request to delete data stored in the storage unit 21 is output from the information processing terminal 10 via the transmission / reception unit 24, the control unit 26 stores the request in the storage unit 21 according to the request. Delete existing data.

  In addition, the control unit 26 generates meta information of data stored in the storage unit 21, encrypts the generated meta information, and transmits the encrypted meta information to the communication terminal 30 via the transmission / reception unit 25. As described above, the meta information transmitted to the communication terminal 30 is transferred to the management server 40 by the communication terminal 30. Therefore, the control part 26 can transmit the produced | generated meta information indirectly to the management server 40 which is a management apparatus (via the communication terminal 30). For example, the control unit 26 generates meta information at a predetermined time interval, encrypts it, and transmits it to the communication terminal 30. In addition, the control unit 26 generates, encrypts, and encrypts meta information each time an operation (writing data or deleting data) is performed on the portable storage medium 20 by the information processing terminal 10. You may send it.

  In addition, the control unit 26 controls the lighting state of the LED light 23 to respond to notification of meta information (for example, data management classification) to the user, that is, according to data stored in the storage unit 21. Notify users. The control unit 26 stores the fingerprint data of the user of the portable storage medium 20 in advance. If the fingerprint data acquired by the fingerprint sensor 22 matches the stored fingerprint data, the control unit 26 uses the data. It may be determined that the user has been successfully authenticated, and the LED light 23 may notify the user according to the data stored in the storage unit 21. In addition, in this embodiment, although demonstrated using the example which performs notification to a user by lighting of the LED light 23, it is not restricted to this. Notification to the user may be performed using sound or vibration.

  Next, the operation of the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the operation of the information processing system 1.

  The portable storage medium 20 generates meta information of data stored in the storage unit 21 and, if necessary, accompanying information such as date / time information and position information when generating the meta information at predetermined time intervals. Then, it is encrypted and transmitted to the communication terminal 30.

  The communication terminal 30 transmits the meta information and accompanying information received from the portable storage medium 20 within a predetermined time to the management server 40. The communication terminal 30 may transmit only the latest meta information and the accompanying information of the meta information to the management server 40 among the meta information received within the predetermined time.

  The management server 40 stores the meta information and accompanying information received from the communication terminal 30. Then, the management server 40 decrypts the meta information and the accompanying information of the meta information as necessary, and acquires information on the storage status of the data.

  In this way, the portable storage medium 20 encrypts the meta information of the stored data, transmits it to the management device (management server 40), and saves the meta information in the management server 40, so that it can be used. The management server 40 can easily manage and grasp the data storage status of the portable storage medium 20 sequentially, without depending on the user's storage.

  Next, generation and transmission operations of meta information by the portable storage medium 20 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 26 determines whether or not the storage unit 21 is empty (no data is stored) and complete deletion has been performed (step S101). Note that complete deletion refers to deletion so that data cannot be restored. Note that the control unit 26, for example, when data is deleted, for data that has not been completely deleted, meta information indicating the data (meta information indicating data that has not been completely deleted). Is created in advance and stored in the storage unit 21.

  When it is determined that the storage unit 21 is not empty (data is stored) or complete deletion has not been performed (removed data is deleted although it is deleted) (step S101: No) ), The control unit 26 generates meta information of data stored in the storage unit 21, and extracts meta information indicating data that has not been completely deleted (step S102). As described above, the meta information includes information such as the data file name and management classification. In some cases, the entire data must be encrypted and stored in the storage unit 21. In such a case, the information processing terminal 10 generates the encrypted data body and the meta information such as the file name and management classification of the data separately, and stores them in the storage unit 21. In this way, meta information can also be extracted from data that is encrypted and stored in the storage unit 21.

  Next, the control part 26 produces | generates accompanying information, such as date information at the time of production | generation of meta information, a positional information, as needed (step S103).

  Next, the control unit 26 encrypts the generated meta information and accompanying information with the public key (step S104).

  Next, the control unit 26 transmits the encrypted meta information and accompanying information to the communication terminal 30 via the transmission / reception unit 25 (step S105).

  When it is determined that the storage unit 21 is empty and complete deletion has been performed (step S101: Yes), the control unit 26, for example, if necessary, the storage unit 21 is empty, And the certification | authentication data which show that the complete deletion is performed are produced | generated and transmitted to the communication terminal 30 via the transmission / reception part 25 (step S106).

  The control unit 26 repeats the processes in steps S101 to S106 described above at predetermined time intervals.

  The communication terminal 30 receives the meta information and the accompanying information transmitted from the portable storage medium 20, and transmits the received meta information and the accompanying information to the management server 40. The management server 40 receives and stores meta information and accompanying information transmitted from the communication terminal 30. Then, when the portable storage medium 20 is lost, for example, in accordance with the operation of the administrator, the stored meta information and accompanying information are decrypted with the secret key and presented to the administrator.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the portable storage medium 20 is related to the storage unit 21 that stores data, the transmission / reception unit 25 that can communicate with the communication terminal 30, and the data stored in the storage unit 21. And a control unit 26 that generates meta information as information, encrypts the generated meta information by a predetermined encryption method that can be decrypted by the management server 40, and transmits the encrypted meta information to the management server 40 via the transmission / reception unit 25.

  Therefore, since the data storage status of the portable storage medium 20 can be automatically transmitted to the management server 40, the data storage status of the portable storage medium 20 can be easily managed and grasped.

  In the present embodiment, the portable storage medium 20 has been described using an example in which meta information is indirectly transmitted to the management server 40 via the communication terminal 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. The portable storage medium 20 may transmit meta information directly to the management server 40. Further, the communication terminal 30 may have a function of the management server 40, that is, a function of decoding meta information. In short, the meta information may be transmitted from the portable storage medium 20 directly or indirectly to a management apparatus that can store and decrypt the encrypted meta information.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various variations or modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations or modifications are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, functions included in each block or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and a plurality of blocks or steps can be combined into one or divided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing system 10 Information processing terminal 20 Portable storage medium 21 Storage part 22 Fingerprint sensor 23 LED light 24, 25 Transmission / reception part 30 Communication terminal 40 Management server

Claims (6)

A portable storage medium,
A storage unit for storing data;
A communication unit capable of communicating with a management device that manages the storage status of data in the portable storage medium;
Meta information that is information related to the data stored in the storage unit is generated, and the generated meta information is encrypted by a predetermined encryption method that can be decrypted by the management device, via the communication unit A control unit for transmitting to the management device;
A portable storage medium comprising: The portable storage medium according to claim 1,
A notification unit for notifying a user of the portable storage medium;
The said control part makes the said notification part perform notification according to the data memorize | stored in the said memory | storage part, The portable storage medium characterized by the above-mentioned. The portable storage medium according to claim 2,
An authentication unit for authenticating the user;
The control unit causes the notification unit to perform notification according to data stored in the storage unit when the authentication unit succeeds in authenticating the user. The portable storage medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The portable storage medium, wherein the control unit generates the meta information at predetermined time intervals and transmits the meta information to the management device via the communication unit. In the portable storage medium according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The control unit transmits at least one of date information and position information at the time of generation of the meta information to the management device together with the meta information. A method for controlling a portable storage medium, comprising: a storage unit for storing data; and a communication unit capable of communicating with a management device that manages a storage state of data in the portable storage medium,
Generating meta information that is information related to data stored in the storage unit;
And a step of encrypting the generated meta information by a predetermined encryption method that can be decrypted by the management apparatus and transmitting the encrypted meta information to the management apparatus via the communication unit.

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