JP3678009B2 - Communication method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the spread of the Internet, an unspecified number of people can access network systems as needed. In an enterprise system that conducts important business, it is required to manage information according to its sensitivity, so it is important to manage who and who is authorized to access the end user at the end. It becomes. The present invention provides an effective management method of a certificate revocation list for confirming the validity of a certificate in a network system that can communicate by mutual authentication between a client and a server using a certificate. It is a related invention.
[0002]
In the prior application Japanese Patent Application No. 9-13532 (reference) filed by our company, the communication party requests the latest certificate revocation list from the integrated authentication server 2, or the certificate revocation from the integrated authentication server 2 We propose a process for checking the validity of the certificate of the communication partner by downloading the list. For the download of the certificate revocation list, automatic operation is proposed. For example, the certificate revocation list can be downloaded at the time of starting the system, at the start of the first business, at the end of the business, or the like.
[0003]
However, the operation when the amount of the certificate revocation list becomes enormous with the increase in the number of entities to which certificates are issued is not sufficiently considered. In order to supplement the invention of the prior application, the present invention is directed to a method of managing a certificate revocation list and providing a user with the minimum necessary information.
[0004]
[Prior art]
In the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) applied in the card electronic payment system, a certificate called CRL is issued to issue a certificate to guarantee the validity of the card holder or merchant, and to notify the invalid certificate. A revocation list is issued. Since the certificate and CRL information are exchanged in the sequence of the SET protocol, there is a concern that the performance deteriorates when the amount of certificate or CRL information to be sent increases.
[0005]
The cause of the increase in the amount of information in the CRL is that the CRL itself has a large electronic message, and there is a specification in which a CA certificate signed in the CRL is added and sent. Therefore, for CRLs and certificates, a protocol sequence that reduces the flow rate by sending a hash value instead of information itself is recommended.
[0006]
However, this specification that distributes CRLs for all end users is not applicable to systems that require high performance or system forms in corporate networks.
[0007]
In addition, the integrated authentication server in the prior application Japanese Patent Application No. 9-13532 application (reference) applies the integrated certificate to the entity (client, AP, etc.) in order to collectively manage the certificates that exist for each transaction. After issuing the integrated certificate and the client user authentication process, the access authority of the user is confirmed. However, where the certificate revocation list is managed effectively depends on the system configuration. For example, in the system that mainly manages the end users at the end with the integrated authentication server in order to solve the troublesome management of a plurality of certificates as in the invention of the prior application, the certificate revocation with the integrated authentication server. It is better to manage the list, and in a system that performs access control based on user access authority information associated with the certificate (for example, business AP on the Web), the person who manages the certificate revocation list on the access control server May be efficient.
[0008]
Also, in EC transactions on the Web that do not comply with the SET protocol, it is appropriate to manage the certificate management and the certificate revocation list separately in order to cope with the increasing certificate transaction list and traffic volume. Furthermore, when many types of certificates have to be handled in the network system, there is a requirement that the certificate revocation list be managed in one place rather than managing each certificate type. Therefore, a method for distributing a certificate revocation list that can be operated even when the number of entities (users, APs, etc.) increases in accordance with the system configuration in a form that complements the prior invention, and management of a large amount of certificate revocation list information I thought it was necessary to propose a management method that would eliminate the need for end users.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In a network system that can communicate by mutual authentication using a certificate (either a certificate issued by an internal certificate authority or a certificate issued by an external certificate authority), the information on the certificate revocation list We propose a certificate revocation list management method that can be operated even when it becomes enormous.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a system in which a client, a business server, and a server that manages a certificate revocation list can communicate with each other via a network. When a communication party uses a certificate to perform mutual authentication, a user can communicate with a communication partner. A means for acquiring a certificate for authenticating the communication, a means for storing a communication partner from which the user has acquired the certificate, and a means for automatically delivering a certificate revocation list relating to the stored communication partner. And
[0011]
The timing when the user acquires the certificate revocation list from the certificate revocation list management server can be when the client system is started up, when the user is authenticated, when communication starts, when business starts or ends, etc. As specific acquisition means, in addition to the means for automatically distributing the certificate revocation list, a user inquires a server that manages the certificate revocation list for a certificate revocation list related to a communication partner. Since the server itself that manages the certificate revocation list requires reliability, the client and the business server are provided with means for managing information that guarantees the validity of the server that manages the certificate revocation list.
[0012]
In addition, in the system configuration in which an access control server is provided in the network system and the user's access authority to the business server is confirmed, it is necessary for user access based on access ticket information issued by the access control server. Provides a means to obtain certificates and certificate revocation lists.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to the present embodiment. A corporate network system 1 and another corporate network system 9 are connected to a wide area network 10 such as the Internet. In addition to the client 8, the corporate network system 1 includes an integrated authentication server 2, a server 3 for managing security information, an access control server 50, a certificate revocation list management server 54, a database (DB) server 5, a business server 6, Servers such as the groupware server 4, the key management server 17, and the certificate issuing server 18 are connected.
[0015]
The DB server 5 and the business server 6 are accessed from the client 8 and used for business processing. The groupware server 4 is a server that sends the first business menu screen to the client 8, manages the transmission / reception of e-mail of the client 8, and manages the user's schedule.
[0016]
It is assumed that a client 20 is connected to the other company network system 9, and the user of the client 8 and the client 20 perform a specific operation such as an electronic transaction using a certificate. Server 3 is a server that centrally manages security information consisting of information that controls access to DB server 5 and business server 6 or other corporate network system 9 and user authentication information including certificate information according to the business. It is.
[0017]
The key management server 17 is a server that generates a communication party key (a pair of a secret key and a public key) used for encrypted communication in the corporate network system 1. An external certificate issuing server 7 is connected to the wide area network 10. The external certificate issuing server 7 is a server that issues an external certificate according to a predetermined procedure. Further, a server called a directory server may have information on the server 3. Note that the client 8 and various servers are information processing apparatuses including a personal computer and a workstation.
[0018]
Furthermore, the client 8 and various servers can execute the computer program embodied on a readable storage medium to perform processing of the client 8 and various servers described below. For example, the access control library 51 is a computer program on the client 8, and monitors the access status of the user by communicating with the access control server 50, the business server 6, and the like.
[0019]
The secure communication library 52 is a computer program on the client 8 or various servers, and performs mutual authentication of communication parties, encryption of communication data, and guarantee of contents in order to securely protect communication in the network system. . Similarly, the certificate management library 53 is a computer program on the client 8 that downloads and manages certificates and certificate revocation lists requested by users on the client.
[0020]
The certificate revocation list management server 54 is a server that manages invalid certificate information for all certificates used in the wide area network 10. The target certificate may be a certificate issued by the certificate issuing server 18 in the corporate network system 1 or a certificate issued by the external certificate issuing server 7.
[0021]
In a network system that performs mutual authentication, data encryption, and addition of an electronic signature using such certificate information, the communication partner's certificate is used to check the validity of the communication partner before mutual authentication. In particular, it is necessary to obtain and check information managed by the certificate revocation list management server 54 to determine whether the certificate of the communication partner is valid. The certificate revocation list can be acquired at the time of starting up the client system, at the time of user authentication, at the start of communication, or at the start or end of business.
[0022]
In this embodiment, a process for acquiring a certificate for the user to authenticate a communication partner, a process for storing a communication partner for which the user has acquired the certificate, and a certificate revocation list for the stored communication partner A process of automatically delivering the certificate revocation list and a process of acquiring the certificate revocation list information from the certificate revocation list management server 54 by the user will be described. These certificate revocation list management processes have different effective methods depending on the system configuration. Therefore, an assumed system configuration will be described.
[0023]
(1) Configuration in which authentication and access control are managed by the integrated authentication server 2 A case where the integrated authentication server 2 is used in the system configuration of FIG. 1 will be described. When the integrated authentication server 2 performs centralized management including user access control, the integrated authentication server confirms the certificate sent from the client 8, obtains security information from the server 3, and the user obtains the corporate network system. Check if you are eligible to log in to 1. (Regarding the method of realizing single login using a certificate in the integrated authentication server 2, the invention of the prior application (refer to Japanese Patent Application No. 9-76954).
[0024]
When this user identification and authentication process is completed, it is necessary to check the access authority of the user to the DB server 5 and the business server 6 or the other company network system 9, so that the ACL (access control list) of the user is assigned to the server 3 To request. The ACL request processing is performed by the integrated authentication server 2 as an extension of the user authentication processing, so that only the ACL from the security information acquired from the server 3 can be passed to the access control server 50. An implementation in which the access control server 50 directly acquires the ACL from the server 3 is also possible.
[0025]
The timing for acquiring the ACL may be after the user authentication process or when a business request is received from the user. In any case, in this form, the integrated authentication server 2 obtains a certificate and certificate revocation list necessary for user access based on information managed by the access control server 50 (for example, ACL and access ticket). There is a need to.
[0026]
(2) Authentication, encryption, and digital signature between communicating parties In the case of a system configuration that performs communication after mutual authentication between communicating parties, the certificate confirmation as shown in (1) is integrated authentication The server 2 does not carry out, but checks between the parties involved in communication. In communication with the secure communication library 52 on the client 8, the mutual authentication of the user 11 in the IC card is performed for mutual authentication between the parties as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-1373532 (reference) of the prior invention. The information on the certificate 10 is confirmed, mutual authentication is performed by a challenge response sequence for transmitting / receiving random number information, and the encryption key used in the session is negotiated. In this embodiment, the certificate management library needs to acquire a user certificate and a certificate revocation list in cooperation with the secure communication library 51.
[0027]
(3) Access Control Server 50 Form for Managing Access Control This form corresponds to the case where there is no authentication part of the integrated authentication server 2 function of form (1). Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a form such as EC transaction in which the certificate is not confirmed when the user logs in but the certificate is confirmed at the start of the transaction. In this form, it is necessary for the access control library 51 of the client 8 to acquire the user's certificate revocation list from the certificate revocation list management server 54 in cooperation with the access control server 50.
[0028]
For all system configurations (1), (2), and (3) above, the certificate acquisition sequence required for the user shown in FIG. 2 to authenticate the communication partner and the certificate revocation list shown in FIG. 4 are acquired. Applies. The difference depending on the system form is that the request source entity shown in FIG. 2 is the integrated authentication server 2, the secure communication library 52, or the access control library 51. Further, as already described, the certificate may be a certificate issued by the certificate issuing server 18 in the corporate network system 1 or a certificate issued by the external certificate issuing server 7. . The certificates issued by these certificate issuing servers are sent to the user and registered in the server 3. Therefore, the entity that the user wants to authenticate a specific communication partner needs to download the certificate of the communication partner from the server 3.
[0029]
FIG. 2 shows a certificate acquisition procedure based on the system configuration (2). The user 11 of the client 8 uses the certificate management screen displayed by the certificate management library 53 to place the necessary communication partner certificate in the client 8, or in the FD or IC card (referred to as a secret information storage medium). Can be stored. When user 11 activates this function, he / she will be asked for his / her user ID and password. This user ID and password are information necessary for protecting access to the secret information storage medium. If access is permitted, specify the certificate of the communication partner you want to download by directory and file name.
[0030]
If the designation is appropriate, the certificate is stored in the secret information storage medium, and a download completion message is displayed. In addition to the certificate download specification from server 3, on this certificate management screen, the specification to store the certificate in the PC on the medium such as FD, the specification to incorporate the certificate stored in the FD into the PC , You can specify to delete the certificate information on the PC.
[0031]
Also, instead of storing the certificate on a medium such as a floppy disk, it is also possible to pass the certificate by file transfer. Since the certificate management library 53 manages the certificate acquired by the user 11, information about the communication partner who owns the certificate is also stored. In this embodiment, a list of certificate information acquired by the user 11 can be referred to by linking the certificate management information screen from the certificate revocation list acquisition setting screen of FIG.
[0032]
The certificate revocation list can be acquired when the client system is started up, when a user is authenticated, when communication is started, when business starts or ends. Also, with regard to a certificate revocation list distribution method, a method of automatically downloading from the certificate revocation list management server 54 at the registered timing, and a certificate revocation list management server from the certificate management library 53 at the registered timing. You can specify how to contact 54.
[0033]
In the push method, all related items are delivered to the client side. However, in the pull method, only the minimum valid / invalid certificate information can be queried. These specifications are determined according to the user's system environment and operation mode. Settings according to the user's operation are made on the certificate revocation list acquisition setting screen shown in FIG.
[0034]
A sequence in which the certificate management library 53 cooperates with the certificate revocation list management server 54 for downloading or querying the latest information of the certificate revocation list will be described according to the sequence of FIG. FIG. 4 illustrates a process in which the certificate management library automatically makes an inquiry to the certificate revocation list management server and downloads the latest certificate revocation list related to the communication partner of the user from the certificate revocation list. The download is triggered at the time of user authentication, and a method of automatically downloading from the certificate revocation list management server 54 at the timing is realized. First, when the user 11 of the client 8 logs in first, the secure communication library 51 authenticates the user 11 by confirming the certificate information of the user 11. Then, the certificate management library 53 is activated, and the certificate revocation list management server 54 is inquired about a certificate revocation list for certificates held by the user 11.
[0035]
The certificate revocation list management server 54 checks whether or not the certificate managed by the user 11 has been revoked and confirms that the user 14 has been revoked. Download the revocation list. Since this process is automatically performed during the authentication process of the user 11, the user 11 is unaware of anything. When the user 11 makes a communication request to the user 14, the secure communication library 51 refers to the information on the certificate revocation list, so that the communication request is rejected.
[0036]
Next, the operation in which the access control server described in the system form (3) confirms the contents of the certificate will be described. When checking the certificate of user 11, the access control server checks the validity of the certificate of user 11 and at the same time revokes a certificate revocation list related to the communication partner of user 11 that is required in association with the access authority of user 11. Needs to be returned to user 11. After the secure communication library 52 confirms the validity of the user 11, the access control library 51 on the client 8 confirms the access authority of the user 11 using the information on the certificate 10.
[0037]
When the access control library 52 transmits the certificate 10 information to the access control server 50, the access control server 50 uses the certificate 10 information to access the access control list (ACL) of the user 11 stored in the server 3. ) Request 70. The access control server 50 can confirm the access authority of the user 11 to the corporate network system 1 based on the contents of the ACL 70. Thereafter, the access control server 50 uses the access ticket to convey the access authority of the user 11 to the access control library 52. Therefore, a sequence for returning to the user 11 a certificate revocation list related to the communication partner of the user 11 is required for the access ticket. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIG.
[0038]
In FIG. 5, when the user 11 of the client 8 logs in, the secure communication library 51 authenticates the user 11 by confirming the certificate information of the user 11. Then, the access control library 51 is activated to inquire the access control server 50 about the ACL of the user 11. In the access control server 50, the certificate revocation list management server 54 is inquired about the certificate revocation information related to the access of the user 11 by the acquired ACL 70. The certificate revocation list management server 54 checks whether or not the certificate managed by the user 11 has been revoked and confirms that the user 14 has been revoked. Download the revocation list.
[0039]
The access control server 50 puts the certificate revocation list in the access ticket 75 and returns the access ticket 75 to the user 11 via the access control library 51. When the user 11 makes a communication request to the user 14, the secure communication library 51 refers to the information on the certificate revocation list, so that the communication request is rejected.
[0040]
Finally, FIG. 6 explains the process of guaranteeing the reliability of the certificate revocation list management server itself. The certificate revocation list management server 54 manages revocation information regarding a plurality of types of certificates. Therefore, the entity using the certificate revocation list management server 54 must confirm its reliability. For example, if a malicious third party registers an invalid certificate revocation list in the certificate revocation list management server 54 or causes a client to download unauthorized information unnecessarily, denial of service by increasing traffic Leads to.
[0041]
In order to avoid such a risk, it is necessary for the communicator to check whether the certificate revocation list management server 54 is correct with the certificate of the management server 54. The request source entity described in FIG. 6 corresponds to the certificate management library 53, the secure communication library 52, the access control library 51, the access control server 50, and the integrated authentication server 2 according to the system configuration. When it is desired to encrypt the communication up to the communication between the requesting entity and the certificate revocation list management server 54, the session key shown in FIG. 6 is used for data encryption in the subsequent communication. For mutual authentication, it is necessary to support a challenge-response sequence.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when a communication party uses a certificate for mutual authentication, the means for the user to obtain a certificate for authenticating the communication partner, the user Since means for storing the acquired communication partner and means for automatically delivering the certificate revocation list for the stored communication partner are provided, the certificate revocation list can be stored even when the number of entities (users, APs, etc.) increases. It can be distributed and has the effect of eliminating the need for end users to manage enormous certificate revocation list information.
[0043]
The timing when the user acquires the certificate revocation list from the certificate revocation list management server can be when the client system is started up, when the user is authenticated, when communication starts, when business starts or ends, etc. Yes, as specific acquisition means, in addition to the automatic delivery means of the certificate revocation list, a means for inquiring the server managing the certificate revocation list for only valid / invalid information regarding the certificate that the user wants to know Is provided.
[0044]
In addition, when an access control server is provided in the network system and the user's access authority to the business server is confirmed, a certificate required for user access based on the access ticket information issued by the access control server Since a means for acquiring a certificate revocation list is provided, processing according to the user's system configuration and operation can be provided.
[0045]
Certificate revocation list management server that manages certificate revocation lists corresponding to multiple types of certificates, since the client and business server have means for managing information that guarantees the validity of the server that manages the certificate revocation list. The reliability of itself can be secured.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a sequence in which a user of the certificate management library 53 according to the embodiment acquires a certificate necessary for authenticating a communication partner.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a screen for setting a certificate revocation list acquisition method.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exchange between a certificate management library 53 and a certificate revocation list management server 54.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sequence for acquiring a certificate revocation list by the access control server in the case of an operation mode in which the access control server confirms the contents of a certificate.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a process for guaranteeing the reliability of a certificate revocation list management server.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... corporate network system, 9 ... network system of other companies,
10 ... Wide area network system: Network system,
2 ... Integrated authentication server, 3 ... Server that manages security information,
4 ... groupware server, 5 ... DB server, 6 ... business server,
7 ... External certificate issuing server, 17 ... Key management server, 18 ... Certificate issuing server,
50 ... access control server,
54 ... Certificate revocation list management server: Server system,
8 ... Client, 20 ... Client: Client system,
30 ... Cert, 31 ... Cert: Certificate issued by certificate issuing server 18,
11 ... User, 14 ... User: User, 70 ... ACL, 75 ... Access ticket,
76 ... Restrictions: Access control information, 51 ... Access control library,
52… Secure communication library, 53… Certificate management library: Program.

Claims (2)

A communication request control method in a system that performs communication by confirming the validity of a communication partner using certificate information in a communication source client system,
The communication request source client system transmitting the certificate of the communication partner stored in the storage device of the communication request source client system to the server;
The server sending a certificate revocation list for the communication partner certificate among the certificate revocation lists managed by the server, to the client system of the communication request source ;
When the certificate revocation list regarding the communication request destination specified by the user is stored in the storage device of the client system of the communication request source, the client system of the communication request source transmits the communication request. A communication request control method comprising: a step of stopping. A communication request control method in a system for confirming the validity of a communication partner by certificate information in a client system of a communication request source,
And Step communication requesting client system, for transmitting information of the user to the access control server,
Of the access information managed by the access control server, the access control server, and transmitting access information about the user to the certificate revocation list management server,
The certificate revocation list management server sending a certificate revocation list related to the access information among certificate revocation lists managed by the certificate revocation list management server to the access control server;
A step wherein the access control server, for transmitting said certificate revocation list and the access information to the client system,
Storing the certificate revocation list and the access information received by the client system of the communication request source in a storage device ;
And a step of stopping the transmission of the communication request by the client system of the communication source when a certificate revocation list regarding the communication request destination specified by the user is stored in the storage device. A communication request control method.

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