JP4244987B2 - E-mail processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic mail processing apparatus, and more particularly to an electronic mail processing apparatus that transmits a reception confirmation mail.

In recent years, with the spread of the Internet, a technique for transmitting and receiving electronic mail via a network such as the Internet has been widely used. Such an e-mail is provided with a function of transmitting a reception confirmation mail for notifying the sender that the e-mail has been received, to the sender automatically or with the permission of the receiver (for example, Patent Document 1). As such a reception confirmation function, for example, MDN (Message Disposition Notification) is known.
JP 2004-86240 A

  By the way, since electronic mail is transmitted via the Internet, encryption processing is performed to avoid eavesdropping, spoofing, tampering, and the like. For example, S / MIME (Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) based on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) is known as such a processing procedure. However, conventionally, the confirmation mail transmitted by the reception confirmation function as described above has not been encrypted. Therefore, even when the e-mail sender sends the encrypted e-mail, there is a problem that the subject name is displayed in the reception confirmation e-mail and the security cannot be sufficiently maintained.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for maintaining security even when an e-mail reception confirmation mail is transmitted.

According to the present invention,
An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
In association with the type of email received by the email receiver, a storage unit that stores a security level setting of the reception confirmation email returned by the reply processing unit;
Based on the security level setting stored in the storage unit, an encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail;
Including
The reply processing unit is provided with an e-mail processing device that replies with the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit.

  With this configuration, when the reception confirmation mail is returned, the encryption process is performed, and security can be maintained.

According to the present invention ,
An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
A storage unit for storing a security level setting of the reception confirmation email returned by the reply processing unit;
Based on the security level setting stored in the storage unit, an encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail;
Including
The storage unit stores a setting in which the security level of the reception confirmation email is the same as the security level set in the email received by the email receiving unit ,
The reply processing unit is provided with an e-mail processing device that replies with the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit.

According to the present invention,
An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
An encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation email at the same security level as the security level set for the email received by the email receiving unit;
Including
The reply processing unit is provided with an e-mail processing device that replies with the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit.

  With this configuration, the reception confirmation mail can be encrypted at a necessary security level corresponding to the original electronic mail.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention. For example, the configuration of the electronic mail processing apparatus can be realized by a program such as a mailer.

  According to the present invention, security can be maintained even when an e-mail reception confirmation mail is transmitted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic mail processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
The e-mail processing apparatus 100 includes an e-mail receiving unit 102, a reply processing unit 104, an encryption processing unit 106, a setting receiving unit 108, and a setting storage unit 110.

  Each component of the electronic mail processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is not a hardware unit configuration but a functional unit block. Each component of the electronic mail processing apparatus 100 includes an arbitrary computer CPU, memory, a program for realizing the components shown in the figure loaded in the memory, a storage unit such as a hard disk for storing the program, and a network connection interface. It is realized by any combination of hardware and software. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that there are various modifications to the implementation method and apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, the network 200 can be the Internet. The email receiving unit 102 receives an email addressed to the email processing apparatus 100 via the network 200.

  The reply processing unit 104 replies the reception confirmation mail to the original email transmission source via the network 200 when the reception confirmation mail is set to be transmitted to the email received by the email reception unit 102. To do. In the present embodiment, the reply processing unit 104 replies the reception confirmation mail in an encrypted state according to a preset condition.

  The setting storage unit 110 stores the security level setting of the reception confirmation mail returned by the reply processing unit 104. This setting can also be performed, for example, on a device-by-device basis, or can be performed for each source of email received by the email receiver 102 or for each type of email received by the email receiver 102. The type of e-mail can be, for example, the presence or absence of an attached document or the type of attached document. The setting storage unit 110 can store the security level setting in association with the transmission source of the email received by the email receiving unit 102. Furthermore, the setting storage unit 110 can store a security level setting in association with the type of email received by the email receiving unit 102.

  The security level can be, for example, “same as plain text”, “attaching the respondent's electronic signature”, “encrypting with the sender's public key and attaching the respondent's electronic signature”, “applying a time stamp”, etc. . The encryption processing unit 106 “encrypts with the sender's public key”, “attaches the respondent's electronic signature”, “encrypts with the sender's public key and attaches the reply's electronic signature”, and “applies a time stamp” "I do.

  The reply processing unit 104 refers to the setting storage unit 110 when acquiring the reception confirmation mail and acquires the set condition. The reply processing unit 104 notifies the encryption processing unit 106 of the set conditions. The encryption processing unit 106 performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail under the notified conditions. The reply processing unit 104 sends back the reception confirmation mail encrypted by the encryption processing unit 106.

  In the setting storage unit 110, “the same security level as that of the received mail” can be set. When such setting is performed, the reply processing unit 104 causes the encryption processing unit 106 to perform encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail at the same security level as the electronic mail received by the electronic mail receiving unit 102. For example, when the electronic mail received by the electronic mail receiving unit 102 is an encrypted electronic mail, the reply processing unit 104 causes the encryption processing unit 106 to encrypt the reception confirmation mail and sends it back. If the e-mail received by the e-mail receiving unit 102 is plain text, the reply processing unit 104 replies with the reception confirmation mail in plain text.

  The reply processing unit 104 can also function as a transmission processing unit that transmits a normal electronic mail. In this case, the reply processing unit 104 can determine whether or not the email to be transmitted is a reception confirmation email, for example, by checking the header of the email. When the electronic mail to be transmitted is a reception confirmation mail, the reply processing unit 104 refers to the setting storage unit 110 and causes the encryption processing unit 106 to perform necessary encryption processing.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the e-mail processing apparatus 100 in the present embodiment.
When receiving the e-mail (YES in S100), the e-mail receiving unit 102 determines whether or not a reception confirmation mail is necessary (S102). Whether or not the reception confirmation mail is necessary can be determined by inquiring the user. If a reception confirmation mail is necessary (YES in S102), the reply processing unit 104 creates a reception confirmation mail (S104). In the reception confirmation mail creation process, the reply processing unit 104 refers to the setting storage unit 110 and determines whether encryption processing is necessary (S106). If encryption processing is necessary (YES in S106), the reply processing unit 104 notifies the encryption processing unit 106 and causes the encryption processing unit 106 to encrypt the reception confirmation mail (S108). After that, the reply processing unit 104 sends back the reception confirmation mail encrypted by the encryption processing unit 106 (S110).

  In step S106, when encryption processing is not performed (NO in S106), the process proceeds to step S110, and the reception confirmation mail is returned in plain text.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable.

  The e-mail processing apparatus 100 may be a terminal, but may be a mail server that performs a delivery service notification (DSN).

  In addition, when an e-mail is transmitted to the e-mail processing apparatus 100 having the above configuration, an e-mail sender may transmit an e-mail with its own public key attached. it can. As a result, the e-mail processing apparatus 100 can encrypt the reception confirmation e-mail with the public key of the e-mail sender and send it back.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electronic mail processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the electronic mail processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 E-mail processing apparatus 102 E-mail receiving part 104 Reply processing part 106 Encryption processing part 108 Setting reception part 110 Setting storage part 200 Network

Claims (5)

An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
In association with the type of email received by the email receiver, a storage unit that stores a security level setting of the reception confirmation email returned by the reply processing unit;
Based on the security level setting stored in the storage unit, an encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail;
Including
The reply processing unit is an electronic mail processing device that returns the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit. An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
A storage unit for storing a security level setting of the reception confirmation email returned by the reply processing unit;
Based on the security level setting stored in the storage unit, an encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail;
Including
The storage unit stores a setting in which the security level of the reception confirmation email is the same as the security level set in the email received by the email receiving unit ,
The reply processing unit is an electronic mail processing device that returns the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit. An email receiver for receiving emails;
A reply processing unit that replies to the sender of the email with a receipt confirmation email of the email received by the email receiver;
An encryption processing unit that performs encryption processing of the reception confirmation email at the same security level as the security level set for the email received by the email receiving unit;
Including
The reply processing unit is an electronic mail processing device that returns the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing unit. Computer
E-mail receiving means for receiving e-mail;
Reply processing means for sending back an e-mail receipt confirmation mail received by the e-mail receiving means to the sender of the e-mail;
A storage unit for storing a security level setting of the reception confirmation email returned by the reply processing unit in association with a type of the email received by the email receiving unit;
An encryption processing means for performing encryption processing of the reception confirmation mail based on the setting of the security level stored in the storage means;
Function as
A program for the reply processing means to reply the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing means. Computer
E-mail receiving means for receiving e-mail;
Reply processing means for sending back an e-mail receipt confirmation mail received by the e-mail receiving means to the sender of the e-mail;
An encryption processing means for encrypting the reception confirmation mail at the same security level as the security level set for the email received by the email receiving means;
Function as
A program for the reply processing means to reply the reception confirmation mail processed by the encryption processing means.

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