JP5334137B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mechanism for reducing a load of a supervisor performing inspection in email inspection work. <P>SOLUTION: An email inspection device receives designation of emails to be inspected among emails in a transmission pending state from a user, displays an inspection screen for inspecting the designated emails, and when all texts of the emails designated to be inspected are displayed on the inspection screen, then receives an inspection result for the emails. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for improving the efficiency of audit work related to whether or not an electronic mail can be transmitted.

  In recent years, leakage of personal information and confidential information has a great influence on corporate trust. Information leakage may occur due to unauthorized access from the outside, but most are caused by carelessness of people inside the company, and information leakage is caused by careless file transmission using e-mail, etc. I sometimes get up.

  Therefore, when an e-mail is sent from an internal network to an external network, measures against information leakage are introduced, such as by introducing an e-mail audit system that decides whether or not to permit delivery according to the content of the e-mail. I have taken.

  In such a system, it is common to control the transmission of an e-mail by setting a keyword or the like and disabling the transmission of mail using the keyword.

  In addition, there is an audit system in which an administrator performs an audit on an electronic mail that cannot be transmitted, and finally determines whether or not to permit transmission based on the audit result.

  In Patent Document 1, when it is determined that the mail is transmitted from the mail address of the mail transmission destination, a list of approvers corresponding to the mail sender is displayed, and the approver is selected and selected. It is disclosed that a mail is placed in a transmission pending state until transmission is approved by an approver.

JP 2007-65787 A

  An administrator who audits such an e-mail is required to make an appropriate determination as to whether or not the e-mail can be actually transmitted.

  On the other hand, not only is it necessary to implement appropriate audits, but when the number of emails to be audited by the administrator increases, the burden on the administrator performing the audit increases, so there is a mechanism to reduce the burden on the administrator. Necessary.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of performing an appropriate audit in an auditing operation for determining whether or not an electronic mail can be transmitted.

  Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that reduces the burden on an administrator who performs an audit in an auditing operation for electronic mail.

The present invention relates to an e-mail that is communicably connected to a plurality of e-mail transmission / reception terminals and is transmitted from the e-mail transmission / reception terminal, and whose transmission is suspended as a result of transmission control being performed based on a predetermined condition. An e-mail audit apparatus that performs auditing, wherein the e-mail is a transmission that is suspended, and an instruction is given as to whether or not the suspension of the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is released and transmission is permitted. and inspection screen display means for displaying an audit screen including a transmission receiver for receiving the identification code storage means for storing the identifying identification symbol citations portion of the electronic mail, the body of the e-mail of the audited in the audit screen it is determined whether all parts the excluding the cited portion identified by the identification symbol storage means stored identification symbol is displayed on the auditing screen And it shows determination means, by the display determination unit, when all of the portion excluding the quotation from the body of the e-mail of the inspection window is determined to have been displayed, accepts an instruction to permit the transmission of the e-mail By displaying on the audit screen an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting, it is possible to accept an instruction permitting transmission, and the display determination means allows all of the parts excluding the quoted part from the body of the email to be audited. If it is determined that the instruction is not displayed, an instruction receiving unit that does not allow an instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction accepting section that can accept an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail. wherein the instruction accepting unit may further all the excluding the body from citations audited email portion regardless of whether it is displayed on the auditing screen, By accepting an instruction not to allow the sending of the e-mail to view the instruction receiving unit capable of, characterized in that it can accept an instruction not to allow the transmission.
Further, the present invention is an electronic mail that is communicably connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals and is transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal, and transmission is suspended as a result of transmission control being performed based on a predetermined condition. An email auditing apparatus for auditing emails , wherein whether or not to permit the transmission by releasing the suspension of the emails to be audited designated by the auditor, wherein the emails are suspended . An audit screen display means for displaying an audit screen including a transmission accepting section for accepting an instruction; a signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature portion of an e-mail; a display determination unit that all the body of the portion excluding the character string stored in the signature storage means determines whether or not displayed on the auditing screen, the display determination The stage, the if all the body of the e-mail audit screen of the portion excluding the character string is determined to have been displayed, the instruction receiving unit that can be accepted instruction to permit the transmission of the electronic mail By displaying on the audit screen, it is possible to accept an instruction to permit transmission, and the display determination unit determines that not all of the part excluding the character string from the body text of the audit target email is displayed. An instruction receiving unit that does not allow an instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail. further, the despite the audited body of the email to whether all the portions except the character string is displayed on the auditing screen, the transmission of the electronic mail By accepting an instruction not to allowed to display the instruction receiving unit capable, characterized in that it can accept an instruction not to allow the transmission.

The present invention also includes an identification symbol storage means for storing an identification symbol for identifying a quoted portion of an email, is connected to a plurality of email transmission / reception terminals in a communicable manner, and is an email transmitted from the email transmission / reception terminal. As a result of the transmission control based on a predetermined condition has been made, an electronic mail audit method in an electronic mail inspection apparatus which performs auditing for transmission is pending email, audit screen display unit of the electronic mail inspection device, wherein An audit that displays an audit screen that includes a transmission acceptance unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not to permit suspension of the email that is subject to auditing and is specified by the auditor, and is an email that has been suspended. a screen display step, the electronic display determination unit mail inspection apparatus, the identification code from the electronic mail of the audited body in the inspection window A display determination step of all portions except the cited portion identified by憶means stored identification symbol is determined whether displayed on the auditing screen, the instruction accepting unit of said electronic mail inspection device, wherein In the display determination step, if it is determined that all of the part of the audit screen excluding the quoted part is displayed, an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail Is displayed on the audit screen so that an instruction to permit transmission can be received, and in the display determination step, it is determined that not all of the parts excluding the quoted part are displayed from the body of the email to be audited. In such a case, the instruction accepting unit that can accept the instruction permitting the transmission of the e-mail is not displayed so that the instruction permitting the transmission can be accepted. There a instruction accepting unit, wherein the instruction accepting step further, all the excluding the body from citations audited email portion regardless of whether it is displayed on the auditing screen, the e-mail By displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction not permitting transmission, an instruction not permitting transmission can be accepted.
The present invention also includes a signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature portion of an electronic mail, is connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals so as to be communicable, and is an electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal. As a result of transmission control based on a predetermined condition, an email audit method in an email audit apparatus that audits an email whose transmission has been suspended, and an audit screen display means of the email audit apparatus includes: Displaying an audit screen including an e-mail whose transmission is suspended and including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is suspended and transmission is permitted and audit screen display process, the display determination process of the e-mail inspection apparatus, the signature memory from email of the audited body in the inspection window A display determination step of all portions except the character string stored in the stage is determined whether displayed on the auditing screen instruction accepting means of the electronic mail inspection apparatus, in the display determination process, the audit When it is determined that all the parts excluding the character string are displayed from the body of the e-mail on the screen, an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail is displayed on the audit screen. If it is determined in the display determination step that not all of the portion excluding the character string is displayed from the body text of the audit target email, it is possible to accept an instruction to permit transmission. An instruction receiving step that does not allow an instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail, Serial instruction accepting step further, the despite the audited body of the email to whether all the portions except the character string is displayed on the auditing screen, to the effect that does not allow transmission of the e-mail By displaying an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving instructions, it is possible to receive an instruction indicating that transmission is not permitted.

The present invention also includes an identification symbol storage means for storing an identification symbol for identifying a quoted portion of an email, is connected to a plurality of email transmission / reception terminals in a communicable manner, and is an email transmitted from the email transmission / reception terminal. A program executed in an electronic mail auditing apparatus that audits an electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended as a result of transmission control being performed based on a predetermined condition , wherein the electronic mail inspection apparatus has the transmission suspended An audit screen display means for displaying an audit screen including a transmission reception unit that receives an instruction as to whether or not to permit the transmission by releasing the hold of the email to be audited designated by the auditor, which is an email; and dividing the cited portion identified by said identification code storage means with the stored identification code from the body of the e-mail of the audited in the audit screen A display determination unit that all portions to determine whether it is displayed on the auditing screen by the display determination unit determines that all of said excluding quotation from the body of the email audit screen portion is displayed If it is, the instruction accepting unit capable of accepting the instruction to permit the transmission of the e-mail is displayed on the audit screen, so that the instruction to permit the transmission can be accepted. If it is determined that not all the quoted parts are displayed from the body of the email to be audited, do not display the instruction reception unit that can accept the instruction to permit transmission of the email in, to function as an instruction acceptance unit that does not allow receiving an instruction to permit the transmission, the instruction accepting unit may further quoted portion from the body of the e-mail of the audited All except portions regardless of whether it is displayed on the auditing screen by receiving an instruction not to allow the transmission of the electronic mail is displayed an instruction accepting unit possible effect that does not allow the transmission It is characterized in that the instruction can be received.
The present invention also includes a signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature portion of an electronic mail, is connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals so as to be communicable, and is an electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal. As a result of transmission control based on a predetermined condition, a program executed in an electronic mail auditing apparatus that audits electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended , the electronic mail auditing apparatus having the transmission suspended An audit screen display means for displaying an audit screen including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not to permit the transmission by releasing the hold of the email to be audited designated by the auditor all in the audit screen from the body of the e-mail of the audited portion excluding the character string stored in the signature memory means the inspection window A display determination unit that determines whether it is displayed by the display determination unit, when all the body of the e-mail of the inspection window of the portion except for the character string is determined to have been displayed, the electronic By displaying on the audit screen an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction for permitting the transmission of mail, it is possible to accept an instruction for permitting the transmission, and the display determination unit determines from the body of the email to be audited. An instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail when it is determined that all parts except the character string are not displayed. to function as an instruction acceptance unit that does not allow reception of the instruction accepting unit may further all from the body of the e-mail of the audited portions excluding the character string before Regardless of whether it is displayed on the audit screen, by displaying an instruction accepting section that can accept an instruction not to allow transmission of the e-mail, it is possible to accept an instruction not to allow transmission It is characterized by.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to perform an appropriate audit | inspection in the auditing work which judges the propriety of transmission of an email.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the administrator who performs auditing in the auditing work for e-mails.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of an electronic mail transmission system. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a mail transmission / reception terminal 110, an administrator terminal 120, a mail relay apparatus 150, and a mail delivery apparatus 190. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an e-mail hold process in the mail relay device 150. It is a flowchart which shows the auditing process with respect to the electronic mail suspended by step S305 of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the text display determination process of step S406 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the whole process of a mail transmission system. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which displays the list | wrist of the email with which transmission was suspended. It is a figure which shows an example of the audit | inspection screen which audits with respect to an email. It is a figure which shows an example of the audit | inspection screen which audits with respect to an email. It is a figure which shows an example of the audit | inspection screen which audits with respect to the email containing a quote part and a signature part. It is a figure which shows an example of the email containing a quote part and a signature part. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen for setting the rule for determining a quotation part and a signature part. It is a figure which shows an example of the table in which the transmission suspension condition was set. It is a figure which shows an example of the table in which the mail data of the suspended electronic mail were registered. It is a figure which shows an example of the table in which the quotation partial identification symbol was registered. It is a figure which shows an example of the table in which the signature part was registered.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an e-mail transmission system according to this embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the e-mail transmission system according to this embodiment includes a mail transmission / reception terminal 110, an administrator terminal 120, a mail relay device 150, and a mail delivery device 190. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110, the administrator terminal 120, the mail relay apparatus 150, and the mail delivery apparatus 190 are connected to each other via a network so as to communicate with each other. FIG. 1 shows one mail transmission / reception terminal 110, but in this embodiment, one or a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals are connected to the administrator terminal 120, the mail relay device 150, and the mail delivery device 190 via the network. They are connected so that they can communicate with each other.

  An e-mail transmitted from the e-mail transmission / reception terminal 110 is sent to another e-mail (not shown) as the destination via the e-mail relay device 150 and the e-mail delivery device 190 according to the e-mail address set as the e-mail destination. Sent to the terminal.

  A mail transmission / reception terminal 110 that transmits and receives electronic mail is an information processing apparatus in which a user gives various operation instructions. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110 can transmit / receive data to / from the mail relay apparatus 150 via the network. The mail transmission / reception terminal 110 includes a mail creation unit 111, a mail transmission / reception unit 112, and an operation unit 113.

  The mail creation unit 111 has a function of creating and editing an electronic mail by a user operation.

  The mail transmission / reception unit 112 has a function of transmitting an email instructed to be transmitted from the user to the mail relay device 150 and a function of receiving an email from the mail relay device 150.

  The operation unit 113 has a function of receiving a transmission instruction for an electronic mail from a user and transmitting the instruction to the mail transmission / reception unit 112.

  Further, the operation unit 113 has a function of acquiring the date and time (transmission date and time) when the user instructs the mail relay apparatus 150 to send an e-mail, and adding information indicating the acquired transmission date and time to the e-mail.

  The mail transmitting / receiving unit 112 is a functional unit corresponding to a mail client (mail user agent: MUA) compatible with generally known protocols such as SMTP, POP, and IMAP. The operation unit 113 is realized by using a function of a WEB browser corresponding to HTTP or HTTPS, for example.

  The administrator terminal 120 is a terminal that receives an operation from an administrator of the e-mail transmission system in the present embodiment.

  The management operation unit 121 of the administrator terminal 120 has a function of accepting operation instructions from the administrator, such as registration, editing, deletion, and browsing of rules stored in the storage unit (rule storage unit 156) of the mail relay device 150; A function of transmitting an instruction (registration, editing, deletion, browsing, etc.) operated by the administrator to the rule setting unit 154 of the mail relay apparatus 150 is provided.

  The management operation unit 121 has a function of accepting operation instructions from an administrator, such as browsing, deletion, and transmission (relay) of an email held in the storage unit (holding mail storage unit 157) of the mail relay device 150; A function of transmitting an operation instruction (viewing, deleting, sending (relaying, etc.) a suspended electronic mail) received by the administrator to the suspended mail management processing unit 155 is provided.

  The mail relay device 150 applies the rule to the electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110, and forwards (relays) the mail to the mail delivery device 190 based on the result.

  The mail relay device 150 includes a mail reception processing unit 151, a rule application processing unit 152, a mail transmission processing unit 153, a rule setting unit 154, and a pending mail management processing unit 155. In addition, the mail relay device 150 includes storage areas for the rule storage unit 156 and the pending mail storage unit 157 in storage means such as the external memory 211.

  The mail reception processing unit 151 has a function of receiving an electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception unit 112 of the mail transmission / reception terminal 110. As described above, information indicating the transmission date / time is added to the e-mail by the operation unit 113.

  The rule application processing unit 152 applies the rules stored in the rule storage unit 156 to the email received by the mail reception processing unit 151, and executes processing according to the rules.

  The mail transmission processing unit 153 has a function of transmitting an electronic mail to the mail delivery device 190.

  The rule setting unit 154 accepts operation instructions such as registration, editing, deletion, and browsing of rules stored in the rule storage unit 156 from the management operation unit 121 of the administrator terminal 120, and saves rules according to the operation instructions. A function of executing processing such as registration, editing, deletion, and browsing of rules stored in the unit 156 is provided. The rule setting unit 154 is realized by using a function of a WEB server corresponding to HTTP or HTTPS, for example.

  The hold mail management processing unit 155 has a function of transmitting an e-mail held in the hold mail storage unit 157 in accordance with an instruction received from the management operation unit 121 of the administrator terminal 120.

  The rule storage unit 156 is a storage area in which rules used in the rule application processing unit 152 (specifically, transmission suspension conditions shown in FIG. 13) are stored.

  The hold mail storage unit 157 is a storage area for storing an electronic mail (specifically, a mail data table shown in FIG. 14) determined to be held by the rule application processing unit 152.

  The mail delivery device 190 is a so-called mail server, and has a function (such as an SMTP server function) for transmitting the e-mail to a destination set in the e-mail transmitted from the mail transmission processing unit 153. . Further, the mail delivery device 190 has a function (such as a function of a POP3 server) that transmits an electronic mail transmitted to the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 to the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 in response to a request from the mail transmission / reception terminal. Also good.

  The mail transmission / reception terminal 110, the administrator terminal 120, the mail relay apparatus 150, and the mail delivery apparatus 190 are computers.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus applicable to the mail transmission / reception terminal 110, the administrator terminal 120, the mail relay apparatus 150, and the mail delivery apparatus 190.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CPU that comprehensively controls each device and controller connected to the system bus 204. Further, the ROM 203 or the external memory 211 is necessary to realize a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) or an operating system program (hereinafter referred to as an OS), which is a control program of the CPU 201, or a function executed by each server or each PC. Various programs are stored.

  A RAM 202 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. The CPU 201 implements various operations by loading a program necessary for execution of processing from the ROM 203 or the external memory 211 into the RAM 202 and executing the loaded program.

  An input controller 205 controls input from the input device 209 or the like. A video controller 206 controls display on a display device 210 such as a liquid crystal display. The display device is not limited to a liquid crystal display, and may be a CRT display or the like. These are used by clients as needed.

  A memory controller 207 is connected to the hard disk (HD), flexible disk (FD), or PCMCIA card slot for storing a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, editing files, various data, etc. via an adapter. The access to the external memory 211 such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory is controlled.

  A communication I / F controller 208 connects and communicates with an external device via a network (for example, the LAN 400 shown in FIG. 1), and executes communication control processing in the network. For example, communication using TCP / IP is possible.

  Note that the CPU 201 enables display on the display device 210 by executing outline font rasterization processing on a display information area in the RAM 202, for example. Further, the CPU 201 enables a user instruction with a mouse cursor (not shown) on the display device 210.

  Various programs that operate on the hardware are recorded in the external memory 211 and are executed by the CPU 201 by being loaded into the RAM 202 as necessary.

  Next, processing of the entire e-mail transmission system in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S601, the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110 transmits an e-mail to the mail relay device 150 in accordance with an instruction from the user.

  When receiving the electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving terminal 110, the mail relay device 150 performs a filtering process on the received electronic mail (step S602). This filtering process is a process of steps S304 to S306 shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  As a result of the filtering process in the mail relay device 150, when the transmission of the electronic mail is suspended, the mail relay device 150 notifies the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 that the electronic mail is suspended (step S603). On the other hand, when transmitting an e-mail, the mail relay device 150 transmits the e-mail to the mail delivery device 190 (step S604).

  Then, in step S605, the administrator terminal 120 requests the mail relay device 150 for an audit process for an email whose transmission is suspended (a process for newly judging whether or not an email whose transmission is suspended). Then, the mail relay device 150 transmits the email data (FIG. 14) whose transmission is suspended to the administrator terminal 120 (step S605).

  The administrator terminal 120 performs an audit process based on the data transmitted in step S606, and transmits the audit result to the mail relay device 150 (step S607).

If the result of the audit at the administrator terminal 120 is that transmission is disabled, the mail relay device 150 notifies the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 that transmission is disabled (step S608). . On the other hand, if the result of the audit at the administrator terminal 120 is that the transmission is permitted, the mail relay apparatus 150 transmits the electronic mail permitted to be transmitted to the mail delivery apparatus 190 (step S609).
The above is the overall image of the processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

  Next, the e-mail hold process in the mail relay device 150 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an e-mail hold process in the embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that the processing in steps S301 and S302 in FIG. 3 is processing in which the CPU 201 of the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 reads and executes a predetermined control program.

  Further, the processes in steps S303 to S306 are processes in which the CPU 201 of the mail relay apparatus 150 reads and executes a predetermined control program.

  In step S301, the CPU 201 of the mail transmitting / receiving apparatus 110 receives an e-mail transmission instruction from the user.

  In step S <b> 302, the CPU 201 of the mail transmission / reception device 110 transmits the electronic mail instructed to be transmitted in step S <b> 301 to the mail relay device 150.

  In step S303, the CPU 201 of the mail relay apparatus 150 receives the electronic mail transmitted from the mail transmitting / receiving apparatus in step S302.

  In step S304, the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 determines whether or not the electronic mail received in step S303 meets a predetermined hold condition.

Specifically, using the transmission suspension condition (FIG. 13) stored in the rule storage unit of the mail relay device 150, it is determined whether or not the email received in step S303 meets the condition.
The transmission hold condition in FIG. 13 will be described.

  In the transmission hold condition shown in FIG. 13, five transmission hold conditions from condition 1 to condition 5 are set.

  Condition 1 is a condition indicating that transmission is suspended for an electronic mail whose transmission destination includes “@ *** 1.co.jp” (predetermined domain name).

  Condition 2 is a condition indicating that transmission is suspended when the size of an electronic mail is 1.5 MB or more.

  Condition 3 is a condition indicating that transmission is suspended when the extension of a file attached to an e-mail is “.ppt”.

  Condition 4 is a condition indicating that transmission is suspended when the text of the email includes the character string “xx company”.

  Condition 5 is that when “@ *** 2.co.jp” (predetermined domain name) is included in the destination of the e-mail and the character string “confidential” is included in the data of the attached file. Is a condition indicating that transmission is suspended.

  In step S304, the CPU 201 of the mail relay apparatus 150 determines whether the electronic mail received in step S303 meets any of the above-described conditions.

  Note that the holding conditions shown in FIG. 13 are merely examples, and conditions other than these five conditions can be freely set.

  If it is determined in step S304 that any of the hold conditions is met (step S304: YES), the process proceeds to step S305.

  If it is determined in step S304 that none of the hold conditions is met (step S304: NO), the process proceeds to step S306.

  In step S305, the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 stores the e-mail determined to meet the hold condition in step S304 in the hold mail storage unit 157 (the mail data table shown in FIG. 14 is stored in the hold mail storage unit 157). This is a table showing saved pending mail). That is, the electronic mail is not transmitted immediately, but is suspended for auditing by the administrator. At this time, the sender may be notified that the transmission is suspended.

  In step S <b> 306, the CPU 201 of the mail relay device 150 transmits the e-mail that is determined not to meet the hold condition in step S <b> 304 to the mail delivery device 190.

  Through the above processing, an e-mail that matches a preset condition can be temporarily suspended to be audited by the administrator without being transmitted as it is.

  Next, the auditing process for the electronic mail whose transmission is suspended in step S305 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an audit process for a suspended electronic mail according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Note that the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is processing in which the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 reads and executes a predetermined control program.

  In step S401, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 receives an instruction from the administrator to audit electronic mail.

  Upon receiving an e-mail audit instruction from the administrator, in step S402, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 acquires the mail data (FIG. 14) of the hold mail stored in the hold mail storage unit 157 of the mail relay apparatus 150. To do.

  In step S403, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 displays a hold mail list screen (FIG. 7) based on the mail data of the hold mail acquired in step S402.

  In step S404, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 accepts selection of an email to be audited by the administrator via the pending email list screen.

  In step S405, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 displays an audit screen (FIGS. 8 to 10) for the electronic mail selected by the administrator in step S404.

  In step S406, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 determines whether or not the entire text of the e-mail has been displayed on the audit screen displayed in step S405. Details of this process will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S407, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 displays a transmission button (a button for giving an instruction to permit transmission) on the audit screen displayed in step S405. Note that the send button may be displayed in advance at the timing of step S407, but may be displayed in advance but cannot be pressed, and may be changed to be pressable at the timing of step S407.

  In any case, it may be configured so that a transmission permission instruction can be issued when it is determined in step S505 shown in FIG. 5 that the entire body of the e-mail has been displayed (step S505: YES).

  In step S <b> 408, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 receives an instruction for an electronic mail that is an audit target from the administrator. Specifically, an instruction as to whether transmission is permitted or not permitted is received for an electronic mail subject to audit.

  In step S409, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 determines the content instructed by the administrator in step S408.

  If the content of the instruction is to permit transmission (step S409: transmission permission), the process proceeds to step S410.

  When the content of the instruction indicates that transmission is not permitted (step S409: transmission is not possible), the process proceeds to step S411.

  In the present embodiment, the process for the suspended email is configured to accept an instruction from the administrator to either permit transmission or disallow transmission. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Processing instructions (such as extending or shortening the holding time) may be received.

  In step S410, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 transmits to the mail relay device 150 an instruction to transmit the email for which the audit has been performed.

  In step S <b> 411, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 transmits an instruction to the email relay device 150 to delete the audited email from the pending email storage unit 157 of the email relay device 150.

  When an instruction to delete the mail is issued in step S411, a notification that the transmission is not permitted may be issued to the sender of the deleted mail.

  Next, details of the process of step S406 in the flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the text display determination process in the embodiment of the present invention.

Note that the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is a process in which the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 reads and executes a predetermined control program.

  In step S501, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 further searches for a signature portion from the text of the email selected as the audit target in step S404.

  The determination of whether or not it is a signature part is made by determining whether or not the signature part matches the signature part registered in the table shown in FIG. 16 is set by the administrator via the signature part determination rule setting screen (FIG. 12B) displayed on the administrator terminal 120.

  In step S502, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 excludes the part determined to be the signature part in step S501 from the body of the email.

  Note that the process of searching for and excluding the signature part in steps S501 and S502 is a process that assumes an e-mail in which the text created by the sender of the e-mail is attached and is essential for the present invention. However, even if omitted, the object of the present invention can be achieved.

  Further, the processes in steps S501 and S502 are not executed when the administrator does not register the signature part in FIG. 12B (when the signature part is not registered in the table shown in FIG. 16).

  In step S503, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 acquires the last line of the portion (not the signature portion) remaining after being excluded in step S502 in the mail body.

  In step S504, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 determines whether there is a quoted part identification symbol at the beginning of the line acquired in step S503. That is, it is determined whether or not the line is a quoted part.

  Whether or not it is a quoted part is determined by whether or not the quoted part identification symbol set in the quoted part identification symbol table (FIG. 15) is at the beginning of the line. That is, a line having a quoted part identification symbol at the beginning of the line is determined to be a quoted part. The quoted part identification symbol table shown in FIG. 15 is set by the administrator via the quoted part determination rule setting screen (FIG. 12A) displayed on the administrator terminal 120. The quoted part identification symbol table is stored in the storage area of the administrator terminal 120.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 15, a line whose initial character is “>” or “>>” is determined to be a quoted part.

  If it is determined in step S504 that it is a quoted portion (step S504: YES), the process proceeds to step S505.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S504 that it is not a quoted part (step S504: NO), the process proceeds to step S506. That is, the line is determined as the last line of the mail text.

  In step S505, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 acquires a line one line above the line acquired in step S503. Then, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 returns the process to step S504, and determines whether or not there is a quoted part identification symbol at the beginning of the line acquired in step S505.

  In step S506, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 acquires the position of the line determined as not being a quoted part in step S504 (such as which line).

  In step S507, the CPU 201 of the administrator terminal 120 determines whether the position acquired in step S506 is displayed on the audit screen displayed in step S405.

  If it is determined in step S507 that it has been displayed (step S507: YES), the processing of this flowchart ends.

  If it is determined in step S507 that it is not displayed (step S507: NO), the process does not proceed to the subsequent processing until it is displayed.

  In addition, as a specific method of whether or not the message is displayed, how much scrolling is performed from the display area of the display field of the mail text and the position of the line determined not to be the quoted part in step S504. It is possible to determine whether or not can be displayed, and by comparing the calculated scroll amount with the actually scrolled amount.

  In the present invention, the method for determining whether or not the image is displayed is not limited to the method described above, and any method may be used.

  In addition, about the process which judges whether it is a quote part shown to step S504 and S505, for example, the email containing the quote part (part which is not the sentence which the sender of the email wrote) like a reply mail is included. This process is assumed and is not an essential process in the present invention. Even if it is omitted, the object of the present invention can be achieved.

  Further, the processes in steps S504 and S505 are not executed when the citation partial identification symbol is not registered by the administrator (when the citation partial identification symbol is not registered in the table shown in FIG. 15).

  In the present embodiment, the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 and the administrator terminal 120 are configured as separate terminals, but the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 and the administrator terminal 120 may be the same terminal.

  In that case, the mail transmission / reception terminal 110 also has a function that the administrator terminal 120 has.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an audit screen displayed on the administrator terminal 120 in step S405.

  The example shown in FIG. 8 is an email audit screen of “mail ID: 000001” in the mail data table of FIG.

  In the mail text display field (801) in the audit screen of FIG. 8, only a part (halfway) of the mail text of “Mail ID: 000001” is displayed. From the position of the scroll bar 804, it can be seen that the scroll is not performed downward. Therefore, since it can be said that the administrator has not yet audited (confirmed) the entire mail text, the mail transmission button 802 cannot be pressed. Note that the mail delete button 803 can be pressed in the example of FIG. 8, but may be in a state where it cannot be pressed in the same manner as the mail send button 802.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state where the mail text is displayed to the end on the audit screen shown in FIG. By scrolling the text display column (901) to the bottom, all of the mail text is displayed. As a result, since it can be said that the entire email text has been audited (confirmed) by the administrator, the email transmission button 902 can be pressed and displayed.

  FIG. 10 is an audit screen for the email of “Mail ID: 000002” in the email data table shown in FIG.

  The contents of the mail text of “Mail ID: 000002” are as shown in FIG.

  In the mail text display field (1001) of the audit screen shown in FIG. 10, only a part of the text is displayed. However, as shown in FIG. The quoted part identification symbol is the line at the beginning of the line or the signature part.

  The range shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 excludes the quoted part and the signature part as the body of the email, so the entire email content is not displayed on the audit screen shown in FIG. The mail transmission button 1002 is displayed in a state where it can be pressed despite the fact that it is not scrolled.

  In other words, the line “I understand the matter of meeting with XX company today” is displayed. Therefore, in step S505, it is determined that all the ranges excluding the quoted portion and the signature portion are displayed, and it can be said that the entire range to be audited (confirmed) by the administrator has been audited. It has become.

  FIG. 14 is a mail data table showing electronic mail whose transmission is suspended by the mail relay apparatus 150 in step S305.

  The mail data table shown in FIG. 14 includes a mail ID of an electronic mail whose transmission is suspended, each data constituting the electronic mail (transmission date and time, sender address, transmission destination address (To, Cc, Bcc), group information, A mail text, an attached file, etc. and a filtering result are stored in association with each other.

  With the above configuration, in audit work that determines whether emails can be sent or not, it is not possible to permit sending unless the contents of the email are confirmed by the administrator, so appropriate auditing is realized. And information leakage can be reduced.

  In addition, in the audit work of e-mail, the range that the administrator should check is set to exclude the signature part and the quoted part that are not related to the content of the e-mail, thereby reducing the burden on the administrator who performs the audit. It becomes possible to reduce.

  It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various data described above are not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the various data and configurations are configured according to the application and purpose.

  Moreover, the program in this invention is a program which a computer can perform the processing method of FIGS. The program in the present invention may be a program for each processing method of each apparatus in FIGS.

  As described above, a recording medium that records a program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the program stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing.

  In this case, the program itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium recording the program constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, silicon A disk or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on an instruction of the program is actually It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board is based on the instructions of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or an apparatus constituted by a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  Furthermore, by downloading and reading a program for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

110 Mail transmission / reception terminal 120 Administrator terminal 150 Mail relay device 190 Mail delivery device

Claims (6)

An electronic mail that is communicably connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals and that has been transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal, and whose transmission has been suspended as a result of transmission control being performed based on a predetermined condition. An email auditing device,
Displaying an audit screen including an e-mail whose transmission is suspended and including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is suspended and transmission is permitted An audit screen display means;
Identification symbol storage means for storing an identification symbol for identifying the quoted portion of the e-mail;
Display for determining whether or not all parts of the audit screen except the quoted part identified by the identification symbol stored in the identification symbol storage means are displayed on the audit screen from the body of the email to be audited Judgment means,
If the display determination means determines that all parts of the audit screen except the quoted part have been displayed from the body of the e-mail, an instruction reception that can accept an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail By displaying the part on the audit screen, it is possible to accept an instruction to permit transmission, and the display determination unit does not display all of the part excluding the quoted part from the body of the audited email. If it is determined, an instruction receiving unit that does not allow an instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail,
The instruction accepting unit further instructs that the transmission of the e-mail is not permitted regardless of whether or not all parts excluding the quoted part from the body of the e-mail to be audited are displayed on the audit screen. An electronic mail auditing apparatus characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting. An electronic mail that is communicably connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals and that has been transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal, and whose transmission has been suspended as a result of transmission control being performed based on a predetermined condition. An email auditing device,
Displaying an audit screen including an e-mail whose transmission is suspended and including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is suspended and transmission is permitted An audit screen display means;
Signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature portion of an e-mail;
Display judgment means for judging whether or not all parts except the character string stored in the signature storage means from the body of the email to be audited are displayed on the audit screen in the audit screen;
An instruction that can accept an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail when the display determining means determines that all of the part of the audit screen excluding the character string is displayed from the body of the e-mail By displaying the reception unit on the audit screen, it is possible to receive an instruction to permit transmission, and the display determination unit displays all of the part excluding the character string from the body of the email to be audited. If it is determined that there is not, an instruction receiving unit that does not allow an instruction to permit transmission by not displaying an instruction receiving unit capable of receiving an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail,
The instruction accepting means further does not permit transmission of the e-mail regardless of whether or not all parts excluding the character string from the body of the e-mail to be audited are displayed on the audit screen. An electronic mail auditing apparatus characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction. Equipped with an identification symbol storage means for storing an identification symbol for identifying a quoted portion of an email, the email is connected from a plurality of email transmission / reception terminals and transmitted from the email transmission / reception terminal, and satisfies a predetermined condition As a result of transmission control based on an email audit method in an email audit device that audits emails whose transmission has been suspended ,
An indication as to whether the audit screen display means of the electronic mail auditing apparatus is an electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended and whether or not to cancel the electronic mail subject to auditing specified by the auditor and allow the transmission An audit screen display step for displaying an audit screen including a transmission reception unit for receiving
The display judging means of the e-mail auditing apparatus is configured such that all of the parts excluding the quoted part identified by the identification symbol stored in the identification symbol storage means from the body of the e-mail to be audited on the audit screen A display determination step for determining whether or not the image is displayed on the screen;
When the instruction receiving means of the electronic mail auditing apparatus determines that all the parts excluding the quoted part are displayed from the text of the electronic mail on the audit screen in the display determining step, the electronic mail is transmitted. By displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction permitting the display on the audit screen, it is possible to accept an instruction permitting transmission, and in the display determination step, a quoted portion is extracted from the body of the email to be audited. If it is determined that all of the removed parts are not displayed, the instruction accepting unit that can accept the instruction to permit the transmission of the e-mail is not displayed, so that the instruction to permit the transmission can be accepted. Instruction receiving means not to
The instruction receiving step further includes an instruction not to permit transmission of the e-mail regardless of whether or not all of the parts excluding the quoted part from the body of the e-mail to be audited are displayed on the audit screen. An e-mail auditing method characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting. E-mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal, comprising a signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature part of the e-mail, connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals, and having a predetermined condition As a result of the transmission control based on the e-mail audit method in the e-mail auditing apparatus for auditing the e-mail whose transmission is suspended ,
An indication as to whether the audit screen display means of the electronic mail auditing apparatus is an electronic mail whose transmission has been suspended and whether or not to cancel the electronic mail subject to auditing specified by the auditor and allow the transmission An audit screen display step for displaying an audit screen including a transmission reception unit for receiving
Whether or not the display judgment step of the electronic mail auditing apparatus has displayed all the parts of the audit screen excluding the character string stored in the signature storage means from the body of the electronic mail to be audited. A display judging process for judging
If the instruction accepting means of the electronic mail auditing apparatus determines that all of the part excluding the character string is displayed from the body of the electronic mail on the audit screen in the display determining step, By displaying on the audit screen an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction to permit transmission, it is possible to accept an instruction to permit transmission, and in the display determination step, the character from the body of the email to be audited If it is determined that all of the parts except for the column are not displayed, the instruction accepting unit that accepts the instruction permitting the transmission of the e-mail is not displayed and the instruction permitting the transmission is accepted. With an instruction reception process that does not make possible,
The instruction receiving step further indicates that transmission of the e-mail is not permitted regardless of whether or not all of the part excluding the character string from the body of the e-mail to be audited is displayed on the audit screen. An e-mail auditing method characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction. Equipped with an identification symbol storage means for storing an identification symbol for identifying a quoted portion of an email, the email is connected from a plurality of email transmission / reception terminals and transmitted from the email transmission / reception terminal, and satisfies a predetermined condition As a result of transmission control based on this, a program executed in an email auditing apparatus that audits emails whose transmission has been suspended ,
The e-mail audit device;
Displaying an audit screen including an e-mail whose transmission is suspended and including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is suspended and transmission is permitted An audit screen display means;
Display for determining whether or not all parts of the audit screen except the quoted part identified by the identification symbol stored in the identification symbol storage means are displayed on the audit screen from the body of the email to be audited Judgment means,
If the display determination means determines that all parts of the audit screen except the quoted part have been displayed from the body of the e-mail, an instruction reception that can accept an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail By displaying the part on the audit screen, it is possible to accept an instruction to permit transmission, and the display determination unit does not display all of the part excluding the quoted part from the body of the audited email. If it is determined, by not displaying an instruction accepting unit that can accept an instruction permitting transmission of the e-mail, it functions as an instruction accepting unit that does not accept an instruction permitting transmission,
The instruction accepting unit further instructs that the transmission of the e-mail is not permitted regardless of whether or not all parts excluding the quoted part from the body of the e-mail to be audited are displayed on the audit screen. A program characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting. E-mail transmitted from the mail transmission / reception terminal, comprising a signature storage means for storing a character string for identifying a signature part of the e-mail, connected to a plurality of mail transmission / reception terminals, and having a predetermined condition As a result of transmission control based on the program, a program executed in an email auditing device that audits emails whose transmission has been suspended ,
The e-mail audit device;
Displaying an audit screen including an e-mail whose transmission is suspended and including a transmission accepting unit that accepts an instruction as to whether or not the e-mail to be audited designated by the auditor is suspended and transmission is permitted An audit screen display means;
Display judgment means for judging whether or not all parts except the character string stored in the signature storage means from the body of the email to be audited are displayed on the audit screen in the audit screen;
An instruction that can accept an instruction to permit transmission of the e-mail when the display determining means determines that all of the part of the audit screen excluding the character string is displayed from the body of the e-mail By displaying the reception unit on the audit screen, it is possible to receive an instruction to permit transmission, and the display determination unit displays all of the part excluding the character string from the body of the email to be audited. If it is determined that there is not, by not displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction permitting transmission of the e-mail, it functions as an instruction accepting unit that does not allow an instruction permitting transmission,
The instruction accepting means further does not permit transmission of the e-mail regardless of whether or not all parts excluding the character string from the body of the e-mail to be audited are displayed on the audit screen. A program characterized in that an instruction not accepting transmission can be accepted by displaying an instruction accepting unit capable of accepting an instruction.

Images