JP4895696B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program, and more particularly to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that protect information to be processed based on a security attribute value.

  In recent years, due to improvements in image processing technology and image forming technology, when copying banknotes and securities using a digital color copier, the copy is faithful enough that the original copy cannot be easily distinguished from the original copy. It has become possible. For this reason, it is necessary to take measures so that special manuscripts such as banknotes and securities cannot be copied at all or cannot be copied correctly.

  Further, for example, even in the case of general documents other than special manuscripts such as banknotes and securities, there are many confidential documents that are prohibited from being output such as copying from the viewpoint of maintaining confidentiality of the document contents. Even for such a confidential document, it is necessary to make it impossible to copy at all or to set a certain degree of restriction.

  For this reason, various inventions have been made in the past that aim to exert restrictions on copying special manuscripts and confidential documents. For example, as a method for discriminating special manuscripts such as banknotes and securities, the input image data is compared with a specific mark (pattern data) registered in advance by a pattern matching method, and a specific mark exists. A method for determining that a document is a special document has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

In addition, a method of embedding ID information in a confidential document using a barcode, a background pattern, or the like, and determining a restriction on the confidential document based on the ID information has been studied.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-125259 JP 2001-86330 A

  However, when information is optically read from a paper document, incorrect information may be acquired due to erroneous recognition. Therefore, a situation may occur in which a stricter limit than the intended limit is imposed or the intended limit is not applied.

  Further, regarding a confidential document in which security information is not embedded on the paper, the security is left to the user who handles the confidential document. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to restrict copying and the like by the above technique.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and appropriately protects information not associated with security information or information associated with security information in a state where identification of the association is not completely guaranteed. An object is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides security attribute estimation means for estimating a security attribute value of information to be operated, and reliability for the security attribute value estimation method used by the security attribute estimation means. Based on the security attribute value and the accuracy, restrictions are defined for the estimated accuracy calculation means for calculating the accuracy of the estimated security attribute value and the execution of the operation on the information to be operated. Control processing according to the restriction by applying restriction information, the security attribute value estimated by the security attribute estimation means, and the accuracy calculated by the estimated accuracy calculation means to the restriction information. And a restriction control means.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention calculates the similarity between the operation target information that is the operation target and one or more pieces of information having security attribute values, and based on the similarity, the operation estimated Suruse Kyuriti attribute estimating means the security attribute value of target information, on the basis of the similarity, and the estimated probability calculating means for calculating the accuracy of the estimated the security attribute value, the operation for the operating pair Zojo paper For execution, restriction information in which restrictions are defined according to the security attribute value and the accuracy, the security attribute value estimated by the security attribute estimation unit, and the accuracy calculated by the estimated accuracy calculation unit By applying to the restriction information, a restriction control means for controlling processing according to the restriction is provided.

  Such an information processing apparatus can appropriately protect information not associated with security information or information associated with security information in a state where identification of the association is not completely guaranteed.

  Moreover, in order to solve the said subject, this invention is good also as an information processing program for making the said computer perform the information processing method in the said information processing apparatus, or the said information processing method.

  According to the present invention, an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing method capable of appropriately protecting information not associated with security information or information associated with security information in a state where identification of the association is not completely guaranteed The purpose is to provide an information processing program.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction machine 10 is an image forming apparatus that realizes a plurality of functions such as a printer, a FAX, a copy, and a scanner in a single housing. However, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the multifunction machine 10 and may be a device having any one function.

  As hardware of the multifunction machine 10, there are a controller 201, an operation panel 202, a facsimile control unit (FCU) 203, an imaging unit 121, and a printing unit 122.

  The controller 201 includes a CPU 211, ASIC 212, NB221, SB222, MEM-P231, MEM-C232, HDD (hard disk drive) 233, memory card slot 234, NIC (network interface controller) 241, USB device 242, IEEE 1394 device 243, and Centronics device. 244.

  The CPU 211 is an IC for various information processing. The ASIC 212 is an IC for various image processing. The NB 221 is a north bridge of the controller 201. The SB 222 is a south bridge of the controller 201. The MEM-P 231 is a system memory of the multifunction machine 10. The MEM-C 232 is a local memory of the multifunction machine 10. The HDD 233 is a storage of the multifunction machine 10. The memory card slot 234 is a slot for setting the memory card 235. The NIC 241 is a controller for network communication using a MAC address. The USB device 242 is a device for providing a USB standard connection terminal. The IEEE 1394 device 243 is a device for providing a connection terminal of the IEEE 1394 standard. The Centronics device 244 is a device for providing a Centronics specification connection terminal.

  The operation panel 202 is hardware (operation unit) for an operator to input to the multifunction device 10 and hardware (display unit) for an operator to obtain an output from the multifunction device 10.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, the multifunction machine 10 includes an image data forming unit 101, a security attribute estimation unit 102, a security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103, a processing content determination unit 104, an operation control unit 105, an image data processing unit 106, and an image data printing unit. 107, an image data distribution unit 108, a notification mail transmission unit 109, a log recording unit 110, an estimation method reliability table 111, a policy file 112, and the like. These units are realized by the CPU 211 processing a program stored in the MEM-P 231 or the HDD 233 of the multifunction machine 10.

  The image data forming unit 101 forms image data based on information scanned from a paper document by the imaging unit 121. The image forming method by the image data forming unit 101 is not required to be special, and a known technique may be used.

  In order to protect the formed image data, the security attribute estimation unit 102 estimates a security attribute value (security attribute value) applied to the image data, and outputs the estimated security attribute value and its certainty factor. .

  Security attributes will be described. In general, in a so-called document management system, attribute information is managed together with actual data of a document (in this embodiment, information including actual data and attribute information is referred to as “document information”). A security attribute refers to an attribute that affects security management, such as an attribute used to determine access control for a document, among the attribute information. The specific attribute that corresponds to the security attribute depends on which attribute you want to protect in terms of the operation, but for example, the affiliation (the department in the company, that is, the management scope of the manager), the document Type (HR-related, accounting-related, certain project-related, etc.), related parties, related groups, confidential level (confidential, confidential, internal confidential, group confidential, etc.), confidentiality deadline (secret level must be maintained) (Expiration date), Expiration date (Time when the document is effective), Retention date (Time when the document required to be stored by law must be stored), and the like can be listed as security attributes.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that image data is protected based on the security attribute value. Note that access control based on security attributes is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2004-0944401, 2004-094405, 2004-102635, and 2004-102907. As is clear from these publications, access control to a document is determined by applying a security attribute value to a predetermined security policy.

  The scanned image data is not configured as document information, only actual data exists, and no security attribute value is set. Therefore, the image data is extremely vulnerable. For example, when the paper document that is the source of the image data is a top secret document, it is not preferable in terms of security that the image data is not restricted and is copied or distributed. Therefore, in the MFP 10 according to the present embodiment, the security attribute estimation unit 102 estimates the security attribute value to be applied to the scanned image data. Here, the term “estimation” is used because the security attribute value determined by the security attribute estimation unit 102 is certain as a value applied to the image data (for example, completely in line with the user's intention). It is not guaranteed). Therefore, the security attribute estimation unit 102 outputs a certainty factor as an index indicating the certainty of the estimated security attribute value.

  A plurality of types of security attribute value estimation methods are conceivable, and the multi-function machine 10 may also have a plurality of security attribute estimation units 102 depending on the type of the estimation method (security attribute estimation units 102-1 and 102-2). , ..., 102-n). A method for estimating the security attribute value will be described later.

  The security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 considers the security attribute value output from the security attribute estimation unit 102 in consideration of the reliability (accuracy) of the estimation method used for estimating the security attribute value. The accuracy of the security attribute value (hereinafter referred to as “estimated accuracy”) is calculated as an index indicating the validity of the value. In the present embodiment, the estimation accuracy is calculated by the following equation.

Estimation accuracy = Confidence × Reliability of estimation method The reliability of the estimation method is registered in the estimation method reliability table 111 in advance.

  The security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 outputs the security attribute value and the estimation accuracy to the processing content determination unit 104.

  The processing content determination unit 104 ensures the security of the image data by applying the security attribute value output from the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 and the estimation accuracy to the security policy stored in the policy file 112. Therefore, the processing content to be executed is determined. That is, in the security policy stored in the policy file 112, operation restrictions on the image data are defined according to the security attribute value and the estimated accuracy.

  The operation control unit 105 is determined by the processing content determination unit 104 by controlling the image data processing unit 10, the image data printing unit 107, the image data distribution unit 108, the notification mail transmission unit 109, the log recording unit 110, and the like. Execute the processed contents. The image data processing unit 10 processes image data. For example, processing of image data includes confidential stamp printing, resolution reduction, color data monochromeization, data erasure, and the like. The image data printing unit 107 controls processing for causing the printing unit 122 to print the image data. The image data distribution unit 108 distributes image data via a network. The report mail transmission unit 109 transmits a mail for reporting to an administrator or the like in response to an instruction from the operation control unit 105. The log recording unit 110 records log information in response to an instruction from the operation control unit 105.

  A method for estimating the security attribute value will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first configuration example of the security attribute estimation unit. In FIG. 3, a security attribute estimation unit 102-1 includes an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) unit 102-1a, a similar document search unit 102-1b, a security attribute acquisition unit 102-1c, a similar document search DB 102-1d, and a security. The attribute DB 102-1e is configured.

  The OCR unit 102-1a extracts text information (character information) from image data using a generally used OCR technique, and outputs the extracted text information. The similar document search unit 102-1b includes text information (hereinafter referred to as “extracted text”) output from the OCR unit 102-1a and text data of each document registered in the similar document search DB 102-1d. Similarity (an index indicating the degree of similarity) is calculated. This similarity corresponds to the certainty factor by the security attribute estimation unit 102-1. However, the certainty factor may be a value obtained by performing conversion such as multiplying the similarity by a predetermined coefficient. That is, the certainty factor is a value indicating the rate at which image data matches a document (for example, text data).

  The similar document search DB 102-1d is a database in which actual data (text data) in text format and document ID are registered for each document. For example, the similar document search DB 102-1d downloads document information of each document from a predetermined document management system and converts the actual data into text data for each document (however, the actual data is text data from the beginning). In some cases, no conversion is necessary.) And the document ID may be registered periodically, for example. In this case, a document similar to the image data is retrieved from documents managed in a predetermined document data management system.

  The security attribute acquisition unit 102-1c acquires a security attribute value to be applied to the image data from the security attribute DB 102-1e based on the similarity for each document calculated by the similar document search unit 102-1b. The security attribute DB 102-1e is a database in which security attribute values are registered for each document registered in the similar document search DB 102-1d. Therefore, for example, the security attribute value included in the document information downloaded from the predetermined document management system may be registered in association with the document ID.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the security attribute DB. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the secret level, the category, the secret retention period, and the like are security attributes, and these values (security attribute values) are registered for each document.

  That is, the security attribute estimation unit 102-1 shown in FIG. 3 uses the security attribute value set in the document (text data) similar to the text information extracted from the image data as the security attribute value of the image data. It is cited and the similarity is used as the certainty for the estimated security value.

  For example, the similarity is calculated based on the number of text information extracted from the image data appearing in the document and the total weight of the text information in the document. Note that these similarities may be calculated by using a general method used in a search system called a search engine. In other words, the key score is extracted from the original document, and the importance score based on the calculation result weighted by the basic score based on how much each keyword is included in the similarity calculation target document and the importance of each keyword Determine by the combination.

  Further, the similarity may be calculated as follows. In the following description, text information extracted from image data is referred to as “extracted text”, and text data registered in the similar document search DB 102-1d is referred to as “stored text”.

First, the extracted text is divided into one or more blocks (hereinafter referred to as “key blocks”), and it is determined whether each key block is included in the stored text. As the unit of the key block, for example, the following can be considered.
(1) The entire extracted text is directly used as one key block, and it is determined whether or not the character string that constitutes the key block, that is, the entire text of the extracted text is included in the stored text.
(2) Using a line feed code as a key block delimiter, it is determined whether or not a character string constituting each key block is included in the saved text.
(3) Using symbols used in ordinary documents such as punctuation marks, punctuation marks, commas, periods, and quotation marks as key block delimiters, it is determined whether or not the character string that constitutes each key block is included in the stored text. .
(4) Using tabs and spaces as key block delimiters, it is determined whether or not a character string constituting each key block is included in the saved text.

  Any one of the above (1) to (4) may be performed, or two or more may be combined. In addition, instead of the simple divisions as listed in (1) to (4), it is possible to determine a noun by morphological analysis and use the noun as a key block.

  Using the determination result for each key block, the similarity is obtained by the following equation.

各変数の意味は以下の通りである。
S_i： i番目の保存テキストに対する類似度
BF：抽出テキストから抽出されたキーブロック数
WBj：j番目のキーブロックの文字数
BA_ij： i番目の保存テキストに含まれているj番目のキーブロック数
WA_i： i番目の保存テキストの文字数
N：テキスト情報ＤＢ１１に蓄積されている保存テキストの数
なお、上記（１）を採用した場合、すなわち、抽出テキスト全体を一つのキーブロックとした場合は、保存テキストに係る文書の内容全文が画像データに含まれている場合は、類似度は「１」となる。

The meaning of each variable is as follows.
S _i : Similarity to the i-th stored text
BF: Number of key blocks extracted from the extracted text
WBj: Number of characters in the jth key block
BA _ij : Number of the jth key block contained in the i th saved text
WA _i : Number of characters in the i-th stored text
N: Number of saved texts stored in the text information DB 11 When the above (1) is adopted, that is, when the entire extracted text is made into one key block, the entire content of the document related to the saved text is an image. If it is included in the data, the similarity is “1”.

The similar document search unit 102-1b calculates the similarity between the extracted text and each saved text by the method as described above. Further, the security attribute acquisition unit 102-1c estimates a security attribute value based on the similarity. The security attribute value based on the similarity may be estimated by using, for example, one of the following methods: (1) The security attribute value of the stored text having the highest similarity is directly estimated as the security attribute value of the extracted text.
(2) Among the security attribute values of the saved texts with the highest similarity, the most severe security attribute value is estimated as the security attribute value of the extracted text.
(3) Estimate the average value of the security attribute values of the saved texts of the top several items of similarity as the security attribute values of the extracted text.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of the security attribute estimation unit. In FIG. 5, the security attribute estimation unit 102-2 includes a similar image search unit 102-2b, a security attribute acquisition unit 102-2c, a similar image search DB 102-2d, a security attribute DB 102-2e, and the like.

  The similar image search unit 102-2b searches the similar image search DB 102-2d for image data similar to the image data formed by the image data forming unit 101 (hereinafter referred to as “target image”). The similarity at this time corresponds to the certainty factor by the security attribute estimation unit 102-2. However, the certainty factor may be a value obtained by performing conversion such as multiplying the similarity by a predetermined coefficient. Regarding similar image search technology, for example, when creating a similar image search DB, image features such as color, color distribution, composition, and pattern for each image are automatically extracted to generate each data. And registered in the similar image search DB. In this way, by registering so-called image feature amounts, unlike the search by text, it is possible to measure the degree of similarity from the concept represented by the image.

  The similar image search DB 102-2d is a database in which image data (text data) and a document ID are registered for each document. For example, the similar image search DB 102-2d downloads document information of each document from a predetermined document management system and converts the actual data into image data for each document (provided that the actual data is image data from the beginning). In some cases, no conversion is necessary.) And the document ID may be registered periodically, for example.

  The security attribute acquisition unit 102-2c acquires the security attribute value to be applied to the image data from the security attribute DB 102-2e based on the similarity for each document calculated by the similar image search unit 102-2b. The security attribute DB 102-2e is a database in which security attribute values are registered for each document registered in the similar image search DB 102-2d. Therefore, for example, the security attribute value included in the document information downloaded from the predetermined document management system may be registered in association with the document ID. The configuration example of the security attribute DB 102-2e may be the same as that shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, even if the security attribute value is estimated based on information printed on the scanned paper document (for example, a character string such as a barcode, “confidential”, a pattern printed on the background, a digital watermark, etc.) Good. In this case, the barcode, the pattern, or the like may be the document ID of the document that cites the security attribute value, or the security attribute value itself.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a pattern printed on the entire background. FIG. 6 shows an example in which a pattern indicating a document ID or a security attribute value is printed on the entire background of a paper document. By printing the pattern on the entire surface, it is possible to make it difficult to separate the paper document from the security attribute value. That is, for a character string such as a barcode or “confidential”, it is difficult to estimate the security attribute value of the paper document if the barcode or the character string portion is hidden and scanned. End up.

  As other security attribute value estimation methods, a general document classification technique or the like may be used.

  Hereinafter, a processing procedure of image processing of the multifunction machine 10 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of image processing of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment.

  For example, it is assumed that the user instructs the multifunction machine 10 to copy a certain paper document (hereinafter referred to as “paper document A”). In this case, the paper document A is scanned, and the image data forming unit 101 forms image data based on the paper document A (hereinafter referred to as “image data A”) (S101). Subsequently, the security attribute estimation unit 102 calculates a certainty factor for the image data A by the above-described method, and estimates a security attribute value for the image data A. Thereby, the security attribute knowledge and the certainty factor are obtained in association with each other (S102). When a plurality of security attribute estimation units 102 having different estimation methods are installed, the security attribute values and their certainty factors may be calculated individually by the plurality of security attribute estimation units 102. In this case, for example, according to the estimation method based on the similar document search (according to the security attribute estimation unit 102-1), the value of the secret level that is the security attribute is “confidential”, and the certainty level is 69%. According to the estimation method based on the similar image search (according to the security attribute estimation unit 102-2), the value of the secret level that is the security attribute is “confidential”, and the certainty thereof is 78%. Multiple output values are obtained.

  However, when a plurality of methods cannot be used due to circumstances of the device or when it is desired to designate which method is to be used by the administrator, the security attribute value may be estimated using some estimation methods. For example, “use method A and method B for copying” may be set in advance. Moreover, when using an apparatus, you may enable it to select separately.

  Subsequently, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 multiplies the certainty level output from the security attribute estimation unit 102 by the reliability of the security attribute value estimation method used by the security attribute estimation unit 102, thereby obtaining the security attribute. Calculate the estimated accuracy of the attribute value. The reliability is determined based on the estimation method reliability table 111.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the estimation method reliability table. As shown in FIG. 8, in the estimation method reliability table 111, the reliability is registered for each security attribute value estimation method. These degrees of confidence can be determined from various factors. For example, the accuracy of the estimation method, that is, the accuracy of determination of similar images, the accuracy of determination of similar text information, and the like may be considered. In the case of an estimation method based on information printed on a paper document, the difficulty of separating the paper document from the information may be considered. In other words, in the case of a character string such as a barcode or “confidential document”, it can be easily separated by hiding only that part, but other parts of the pattern or digital watermark printed on the entire surface can be hidden. Separation is difficult because it is more identifiable or the portion where the electronic watermark is embedded cannot be visually recognized. However, if the recognition accuracy is taken into consideration, the barcode may be higher than the pattern. Considering these various factors, the reliability may be determined in advance and the estimation method reliability table 111 may be constructed.

  When a plurality of security attribute values are estimated, that is, when a plurality of output values (security attribute values and certainty factors) are output from the security attribute estimation unit 102, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 outputs each output value. Estimated accuracy is calculated for.

For example, according to an estimation method based on similar document search (OCR + similar document search), the output value from the security attribute estimation unit 102 is “confidential” as the secret level value as a security attribute, and the certainty level is 69%. Yes (hereinafter referred to as “output value A”), according to the estimation method based on the similar image search, the value of the secret level as the security attribute is “confidential” and the certainty is 78% (hereinafter referred to as “output”). Consider a case where the value is “value B”). According to the estimation method reliability table 111 of FIG. 8, the reliability for the output value A is 60%, and the reliability for the output value B is 50%. Therefore, the estimated accuracy for each security attribute value is
Estimated accuracy for output value A = 69% × 60% = 41.4%
Estimated accuracy for output value B = 78% × 50% = 39%
It becomes.

  When a plurality of security attribute values are estimated, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 further selects the security attribute value with the highest estimation accuracy as the security attribute value to be applied to the image data A (S104). Therefore, in the case of the above example, the security attribute value (“confidential”) related to the output value A is selected. However, in addition to the estimation accuracy, for example, a priority may be given to a security attribute value estimation method, and the security attribute value may be selected in consideration of the priority. In this case, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 selects a security attribute value by referring to the following estimation method priority table.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the estimation method priority table. As shown in FIG. 9, in the estimation method priority table 113, a priority (priority order) is set for each estimation method. In the priority table 113, there may be a plurality of estimation methods having the same priority.

  When considering the priority, it is only necessary to select the estimated security attribute value related to the estimation method with the highest priority. When security attribute values are obtained by estimation methods having the same priority, security attribute values may be selected by comparing the certainty factors of the respective estimation methods. For example, based on the estimation method priority table 113 of FIG. 9, when a document ID can be acquired by the ID identification method based on the entire pattern, which is an estimation method of priority 1, the security attribute value estimated by the estimation method as it is. Select. On the other hand, when the security attribute value is estimated by the priority 1 estimation method and the security attribute value is estimated by priority 2 OCR + document classification and image pattern matching, the security with the higher certainty Select an attribute value. Furthermore, by combining the reliability and the priority, it is possible to make the estimation accuracy of an estimation method (such as a security level display) that increases the certainty level despite the low priority level realistic. In this case, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 selects a security attribute value with reference to the following estimation method reliability / priority table.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the estimation method reliability / priority table. As shown in FIG. 10, in the estimation method reliability / priority table 114, reliability and priority are set for each estimation method. Based on the estimation method reliability / priority table 114, for example, the estimation of security attribute values fails by all of the estimation methods having a priority higher than 4, and the reliability of 99% is obtained only by displaying the security level of priority 4. When the security attribute value is estimated in step S101, it can be assumed that the security attribute value can be estimated with an estimation accuracy of 99% × 25% = 24.75%, and the validity of subsequent processing can be improved.

  Subsequently, the processing content determination unit 104 applies the security attribute value selected by the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103 and the estimation accuracy to the security policy defined in the policy file 112, thereby security of the image data A. The processing contents to be executed to secure the data are determined (S105).

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a definition example of a security policy in a policy file. In the security policy 112a shown in FIG. 11, restriction information (operation permission / inhibition, responsibility, etc.) for document operations is defined in accordance with the security attribute value and the estimated accuracy. For example, the definition 112a-1 is restriction information for the scan operation of the confidential document, and the definition 112a-2 is restriction information for the scan operation of the confidential document. According to the definition 112a-1, if the estimated accuracy that the document is a confidential document is 50% or more, processing after scanning is prohibited, and job log recording and notification mail transmission are imposed as responsibilities ( 112a-11). If the estimated accuracy that the document is a confidential document is 25% or more, scanning is permitted, but recording of an image log (recording of a log including image data) and transmission of a notification mail are imposed as responsibilities. (112a-12). Furthermore, if the estimated accuracy that the document is a confidential document is less than 25%, scanning is permitted, but recording of an image log is imposed as an obligation (112a-13). Similarly, in the definition 112a-2, permission / responsibility of operations and responsibilities are defined for each estimated accuracy.

According to the security policy 112a in FIG. 11, for example, a scanning operation (including scanning at the time of copying) is requested by the user, the estimation method is ID identification based on the entire pattern, the security attribute value is confidential, and the certainty is 95%. If
Estimated accuracy = 95% x 90% = 85.5%
It becomes. Therefore, from the definition 112a-11, "processing prohibition, job log recording, notification mail transmission" is determined as the processing content.

  Subsequently, in the operation control unit 105, the operation control unit actually executes the processing content determined by the processing determination unit 104. For example, if the determined processing content includes “image processing” (secret stamp printing, resolution reduction, color data monochromeization, data deletion, etc.), the image data processing unit 106 is controlled and determined. The processed process is performed. In addition, if the determined processing content includes “report mail transmission”, “notification to similar data holder”, etc., the report mail transmission unit 109 transmits the report mail or the like. Furthermore, if the determined processing content includes “job log recording”, “image log recording”, or the like, the log recording unit 110 is caused to execute the recording of the corresponding log.

  If copying of the paper document A is permitted, the image data printing unit 107 prints the scanned image data A. In addition, when the user instructs distribution of the paper document A and the distribution is permitted, the image data distribution unit 108 executes distribution of the image data A.

  As described above, according to the MFP 10 in the present embodiment, a security attribute value is added by a paper document to which a security attribute value is not added, or a barcode, a pattern, a digital watermark, or the like. It is possible to appropriately protect a paper document whose identification of the security attribute value is not completely guaranteed due to an error or the like. That is, security attributes are estimated for such a paper document, and operation restrictions are determined according to the estimation accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to apply a reasonable operation restriction according to the security attribute value estimation method employed. In addition, security attribute values are estimated by a plurality of estimation methods, and security attribute values to be applied to the paper document are selected based on the estimation accuracy. Therefore, operation restrictions are set based on highly valid security attribute values. Judgment can be made.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the image processing system according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 12, the same parts as those in FIG.

  In the image processing system 2 of FIG. 12, the multifunction device 10 and the external server 30 are connected via a network (whether wired or wireless). The multifunction machine 10 includes an image data forming unit 101, an operation control unit 105, an image data processing unit 106, an image data printing unit 107, an image data distribution unit 108, a log recording unit 110, an image data transmission unit 115, and a processing content reception unit. 116 and the like. The image data transmission unit 115 transmits the image data formed by the image data formation unit 101 to the external server 30 connected via the network. The processing content receiving unit 116 receives the processing content determined in the external server 30 and outputs it to the operation control unit 105.

  The external server 30 includes an image data reception unit 301, a security attribute estimation unit 302, a security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 303, a processing content determination unit 304, an operation control unit 305, a notification mail transmission unit 306, a log recording unit 307, and a processing content transmission. 308, an estimation method reliability table 309, a policy file 310, and the like. The image data receiving unit 301 receives image data formed in the multifunction machine 10. The processing content transmission unit 308 transmits the processing content determined by the processing content determination unit 304 to the multifunction machine 10.

  The security attribute estimation unit 302, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 303, the processing content determination unit 304, the operation control unit 305, the notification mail transmission unit 306, the log recording unit 307, the estimation method reliability table 309, and the policy file 310 are respectively The security attribute estimation unit 102, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 103, the processing content determination unit 104, the operation control unit 105, the notification mail transmission unit 109, and the log recording unit that are implemented in the multifunction machine 10 in the first embodiment. 110, the estimation method reliability table 111, and the same function as the policy file 112 are realized.

  That is, the second embodiment shows an example in which a security attribute value estimation function, a processing content determination function, and the like are transferred from the multifunction machine 10 to the external server 30. It is not necessary to change the processing contents of each processing unit by moving each processing unit to the external server 30, but when the log is recorded in association with the image data also in the external server 30, the image data receiving unit 301 receives it. It is necessary to output the image data to the log recording unit 307.

  By separating the security attribute value estimation function and the processing content determination function from the multifunction device 10 and installing the external server 30 that can use the function via the network, not only the multifunction device 10 but also other devices or The function can be easily used from a system (for example, a document management apparatus, a client PC, or the like).

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example when the document management apparatus uses the external server according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 13, the same parts as those in FIG. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  In FIG. 13, a document management apparatus 40 includes a document data forming unit 401, an operation control unit 402, a document data processing unit 403, a log recording unit 404, a document data storage unit 405, a document data distribution unit 406, a document data transmission unit 407, And a processing content receiving unit 408 and the like. Each of these units realizes the same function as each corresponding unit in the multifunction machine 10 of FIG. However, the difference is that the data to be processed is document data. In the present embodiment, the document data includes, for example, data created by word processing software or spreadsheet software, or simple text data. Therefore, the document data forming unit 401 corresponds to word processing software, spreadsheet software, a text editor, or the like.

  The external server 30a includes a document data reception unit 301a, a security attribute estimation unit 302, a security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 303, a processing content determination unit 304, an operation control unit 305, a notification mail transmission unit 306, a log recording unit 307, a processing The content transmitting unit 308, the estimation method reliability table 309, and the policy file 310 are configured. The document data receiving unit 301 a receives document data from the document management apparatus 40.

  In the case of FIG. 13, the security attribute estimation unit 302 estimates the security attribute value for the document data. When the security attribute value is estimated based on the similarity of the text information or the similarity of the image data, the document management apparatus The document data received from 40 may be converted into text information or image data.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the image processing system according to the third embodiment. 14, the same parts as those in FIG. 2 or 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate. In the third embodiment, the display of the estimation method reliability table and the policy file in the drawing is omitted for convenience.

  The image processing system 3 of FIG. 14 is different from the second embodiment (FIG. 12) in that the multifunction device 10 performs the estimation up to the security attribute value. Information for identifying the security attribute value estimated by the security attribute estimation unit 102 of the MFP 10, its certainty factor, and the estimation method is transmitted to the processing content determination server 50 by the security attribute transmission unit 117. In the processing content determination server 50, the security attribute receiving unit 501 receives information transmitted from the multifunction device 10. Based on the received information, the security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 502 selects a security attribute value and calculates the estimation accuracy, and the processing content determination unit 503 determines the processing content. The determined processing content is transmitted to the multifunction machine 10 by the processing content transmission unit 507.

  The processing content determination server 50 in the third embodiment does not estimate the security attribute value. Therefore, when the estimation of the security attribute value is executed not only in the multifunction machine 10 but also in another device or system, the other device or system can use the processing content determination server 50. Therefore, a configuration as shown in FIG. 15 is also possible.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the image processing system according to the fourth embodiment. 15, the same parts as those in FIG. 2, FIG. 12, or FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. As in the third embodiment, in the fourth embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the estimation method reliability table and the policy file are not shown in the figure. In FIG. 15, the security attribute value is estimated by the security attribute estimation server 60, and the processing content is determined by the processing content determination server 50. That is, the image data formed by the image data forming unit 101 of the multifunction machine 10 is transmitted to the security attribute estimation server 60 by the image data transmitting unit 115. In the security attribute estimation server 60, the image data receiving unit 601 receives image data. A security attribute estimation unit 602 estimates a security attribute value for the received image data, and calculates its certainty factor. The security attribute transmission unit 303 transmits information for identifying the estimated security attribute value, its certainty factor, and the estimation method to the processing content determination server 50. The processing content determination server 50 executes the same processing as that of the third embodiment, and the determined processing content is transmitted to the multifunction machine 10.

  Note that the processing content determination server 50 according to the third or fourth embodiment is not limited to a case where a security attribute value is estimated from a pattern or character printed on image data, but also an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader, It can also be used when security attribute values are estimated in a dedicated identification device such as a barcode reader.

  Since RFID readers, barcode readers, and the like perform output with certainty using error correction codes or the like, the certainty of the security attribute value estimated based on the read information may be 100%. Then, the present invention may be effectively implemented by setting a value in consideration of the risk of tampering due to RFID impersonation or barcode replacement as the reliability for the estimation method. In this case, the estimation method reliability table is configured as follows.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of the estimation method reliability table. In FIG. 16, an entry 111a-1 for RFID and an entry 111a-2 for barcode are added to the estimation method reliability table 111a.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to the specific embodiment which concerns, In the range of the summary of this invention described in the claim, various deformation | transformation * It can be changed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 1st structural example of a security attribute estimation part. It is a figure which shows the structural example of security attribute DB. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of a security attribute estimation part. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern printed on the whole surface of the background. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of image processing of the multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of an estimation method reliability table. It is a figure which shows the structural example of an estimation method priority table. It is a figure which shows the structural example of an estimation method reliability and priority table. It is a figure which shows the example of a security policy definition in a policy file. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the image processing system in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example in case a document management apparatus utilizes the external server in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the image processing system in 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the image processing system in 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of an estimation method reliability table.

Explanation of symbols

2, 3, 4 Image processing system 10 MFP 30, 30a External server 40 Document management device 50 Processing content determination server 60 Security attribute estimation server 101 Image data forming unit 102, 102-1, 102-2, 302, 602 Security attribute Estimation unit 102-1a OCR unit 102-1b Similar document search unit 102-1c Security attribute acquisition unit 102-1d DB for similar document search
102-1e Security attribute DB
102-2b Similar image search unit 102-2c Security attribute acquisition unit 102-2d DB for similar image search
102-2e Security attribute DB
103, 303, 502 Security attribute estimation accuracy calculation unit 104, 304, 503 Processing content determination unit 105, 305, 402, 504 Operation control unit 106 Image data processing unit 107 Image data printing unit 108 Image data distribution unit 109, 306, 505 Communication mail transmission unit 110, 307, 404, 506 Log recording unit 111 Estimation method reliability table 112 Policy file 115 Image data transmission unit 116 Processing content reception unit 117, 603 Security attribute transmission unit 201 Controller 202 Operation panel 203 Facsimile control unit 211 CPU
212 ASIC
221 NB
222 SB
231 MEM-P
232 MEM-C
233 HDD
234 Memory card slot 235 Memory card 241 NIC
242 USB device 243 IEEE 1394 device 244 Centronics device 301, 601 Image data reception unit 301a Document data reception unit 401 Document data formation unit 403 Document data processing unit 405 Document data storage unit 406 Document data distribution unit 407 Document data transmission unit 501 Security attribute reception Part

Claims (15)

A security attribute estimation means for estimating a security attribute value of information to be operated;
An estimated accuracy calculation means for calculating the accuracy of the estimated security attribute value based on the reliability of the security attribute value estimation method used by the security attribute estimation means;
Restriction information in which a restriction is defined according to the security attribute value and the accuracy with respect to the execution of the operation on the information that is the operation target;
Restriction control means for controlling processing according to the restriction by applying the security attribute value estimated by the security attribute estimation means and the accuracy calculated by the estimated accuracy calculation means to the restriction information; An information processing apparatus comprising: The security attribute estimation means calculates a certainty factor for the estimation result of the security attribute value,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimated accuracy calculation unit calculates the accuracy for the security attribute value estimated based on the certainty factor and the reliability.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the security attribute estimation unit estimates the security attribute value based on information added to the information to be operated.   The said security attribute estimation means estimates the security attribute value set to the information similar to the information made into the said operation object as a security attribute value with respect to the information made into the said operation object, or characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The information processing apparatus according to 2.   The security attribute estimation means estimates a security attribute value set in information similar to the information that is the operation target as a security attribute value for the information that is the operation target, and the information that is the operation target The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the certainty factor is calculated based on a similarity degree with the similar information. The security attribute estimation means estimates a plurality of security attribute values using a plurality of methods,
The estimated accuracy calculation means calculates the accuracy for each of a plurality of security attribute values, and calculates a security attribute value to be applied to the information to be operated from among the plurality of security attribute values based on the accuracy. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is selected. And an operation target is the operation target information, calculates the similarity between one or more information with the security attribute value, on the basis of the similarity, estimated Suruse Kyuriti attribute estimating the security attribute value of the operation target information Means,
An estimated accuracy calculation means for calculating the accuracy of the estimated security attribute value based on the similarity ;
For execution of operations on the operation pair Zojo report, the restriction information limited according to the security attribute value, and the accuracy is defined,
Restriction control means for controlling processing according to the restriction by applying the security attribute value estimated by the security attribute estimation means and the accuracy calculated by the estimated accuracy calculation means to the restriction information; An information processing apparatus comprising: An information processing method executed by a computer,
A security attribute estimation procedure for estimating a security attribute value of information to be operated;
An estimated accuracy calculation procedure for calculating the accuracy of the estimated security attribute value based on the reliability of the security attribute value estimation method used in the security attribute estimation procedure;
The security attribute value estimated in the security attribute estimation procedure and the accuracy calculated in the estimated accuracy calculation procedure are defined as operation restrictions on the information according to the security attribute value and the accuracy. An information processing method comprising: a restriction control procedure for controlling processing according to the restriction by applying the restriction information. The security attribute estimation procedure calculates a certainty factor for the security attribute value estimation result,
9. The information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the estimated accuracy calculation procedure calculates the accuracy for the security attribute value estimated based on the certainty factor and the reliability.   The information processing method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the security attribute estimation procedure estimates the security attribute value based on information added to the information to be operated.   The said security attribute estimation procedure estimates the security attribute value set to the information similar to the information made into the said operation object as a security attribute value with respect to the information made into the said operation object, or characterized by the above-mentioned. 9. The information processing method according to 9.   The security attribute estimation procedure estimates a security attribute value set in information similar to the information that is the operation target as a security attribute value for the information that is the operation target, and the information that is the operation target The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein the certainty factor is calculated based on a similarity with the similar information. The security attribute estimation procedure estimates a plurality of security attribute values using a plurality of methods,
The estimated accuracy calculation procedure calculates the accuracy for each of a plurality of security attribute values, and calculates a security attribute value to be applied to the operation target information from the plurality of security attribute values based on the accuracy. The information processing method according to claim 8, wherein the information processing method is selected. An information processing method executed by a computer,
A security attribute estimation procedure for calculating the similarity between the operation target information that is the operation target and one or more pieces of information having security attribute values, and estimating the security attribute value of the operation target information based on the similarity When,
An estimated accuracy calculation procedure for calculating the accuracy of the estimated security attribute value based on the similarity ;
For execution of operations on the operation pair Zojo report, the restriction information limited according to the security attribute value, and the accuracy is defined,
The security attribute value estimated in the security attribute estimation procedure and the accuracy calculated in the estimated accuracy calculation procedure are defined as operation restrictions on the operation target information according to the security attribute value and the accuracy. An information processing method comprising: a restriction control procedure for controlling processing according to the restriction by applying to the restriction information.   An information processing program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 8.

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