JPH07105136A - Security device for pen input portable type computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely prevent an application program loaded a memory from illegally being used by a 3rd party. CONSTITUTION:The memory 4 holds the loaded application program even while the computer is powered off. When a user writes 2 sign on an input tablet 10 by using a pen 11 when the power source is turned on, a sign certifying mechanism 8 collates the features of the inputted sign with features stored in a nonvolatile feature storage part 85 to certify the sign. When the sign matches, the application program loaded on the memory 4 is allowed to be executed, but when not, the application of the sign which is inputted this time if the sign does registration of the sign which is inputted this time if the sign does not match, the features of the sign which is inputted this time are saved in the feature storage part 85 and then the application program in the memory 4 is cleared.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer security technique, and more particularly to a security device for a pen input portable computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pen input portable computer is a computer which can input data such as katakana, alphanumeric characters or kanji and various instructions by handwriting with a pen instead of a keyboard, and can be miniaturized. , Has been attracting attention as a portable terminal mainly for personal use.

By the way, it is important to prevent unauthorized use by a third party in a pen input portable computer as in a general computer, and it should be taken into consideration that it is a portable computer that has many opportunities to contact a third party. Therefore, it can be said that it is more important than a stand-alone computer.

Generally, as a technique for preventing unauthorized use of a computer, there is a technique for allowing a user to input a password, collating the password with a password registered in advance, and permitting the use of the computer only when the passwords match.

Therefore, it is generally conceivable to apply this measure for preventing unauthorized use by using a password to a pen-input portable computer.

[0006]

However, although the password-based security technique is a simple method,
If the password is leaked to a third party, the third party can easily use the computer on behalf of a legitimate user, and there is a problem in security reliability.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to ensure security by verifying a handwritten signature by a user instead of verifying a password, thereby more reliably preventing unauthorized use of a computer by a third party other than the authorized user. To prevent.

As a device for authenticating a person by a handwritten signature, there is known a handwriting input personal authentication device as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-238582 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1). If the device is directly applied to a pen-input portable computer, an input mechanism different from the pen-based handwritten character input mechanism that the pen-input portable computer basically has is required, which leads to an increase in size of the device.

Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a security device for a pen-input portable computer in which the input mechanism of the pen-input portable computer is used as an input mechanism for a handwritten signature of a user. is there.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pen input portable computer security device equipped with a handwritten character input mechanism, in which a handwritten signature of a user is provided through the input mechanism. A signature authenticating means for inputting and verifying the identity of the signature by comparing the characteristics of the inputted signature with the characteristics of the signature registered in advance, and a signature by the signature authenticating means before the execution of the application program is started. Authentication means, and the control means that permits the execution of the application program only when the same sign is authenticated, or
It is provided with a control means for permitting execution of the application program only when the same signature is authenticated and the character recognition result of the input signature matches the character recognition result of the previously registered signature. .

[0011]

In the present invention, the control means such as the operating system (OS) of the computer provides the handwritten signature input by the user through the input mechanism and the pre-registered signature before the execution of the application program is started. Is authenticated by the signature authenticating means, and the execution of the application program is permitted only when the same signature is authenticated. Alternatively, the application program is permitted to be executed only when the same signature is authenticated and the character recognition result of the input signature and the character recognition result of the previously registered signature match.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a pen-input portable computer to which the present invention is applied is a CPU 1, a ROM 2 connected to its bus 2, a main memory 4 with a backup function 4, an external storage interface 5, and a display. It has a controller 6, a tablet interface 7 and a signature authentication mechanism 8, a display 9 connected to the display controller 6, and an input tablet 10 and a pen 11 connected to the tablet interface 7. Reference numeral 12 is an external storage medium such as an IC card.

The signature authentication mechanism 8 includes a handwriting input unit 8
1, a feature extraction unit 82, a signal switching unit 83, a feature storage unit 84 that temporarily stores the signature feature to be authenticated, and a feature storage unit 85 configured by a non-volatile memory that stores the reference signature feature. , A collation unit 86.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of a security management program incorporated in the OS of the computer.

The function and overall operation of each part of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Now, it is assumed that the application program is not loaded in the main memory 4 of FIG. 1 and the characteristic of the signature serving as a reference is not stored in the characteristic storage unit 85.

In such a state, when the user turns on the power of the computer, first, in step S1 of FIG. 2, the OS and various peripheral devices are initialized to start the OS (S1). . The OS is stored in the ROM 3.

When the OS startup is completed, control is transferred to the security management program in the OS, and the security management program performs the signature authentication processing S2.
The signature authentication mechanism 8 is activated.

Handwriting input section 81 in the signature authentication mechanism 8
Displays a sign input prompt message on the screen of the display 9 through the display controller 6.

When the user uses the pen 11 to handwrite his / her signature in a predetermined area on the input tablet 10, data indicating the handwriting of the handwritten signature from the input tablet 10 (for example, individual points on the handwriting). (Coordinate value of) is sent to the main memory 4 through the tablet interface 7, and the handwriting of the signature is plotted in a predetermined area on the main memory 4.

The handwriting input unit 81 of the signature authentication mechanism 8 reads the handwriting data of the signature stored in the main memory 4 and outputs it to the feature extraction unit 82.

The feature extraction unit 82 extracts various predetermined feature data from the input handwriting plot data of the signature. For example, features such as “aspect ratio of circumscribing rectangle”, “geometrical relationship between start point and end point”, and “temporal characteristic of orthogonal projection in the axial direction” as adopted in Reference 1 are extracted. Then, the extracted feature data is stored in the feature storage unit 84 through the signal switching unit 83 that is switched to the feature storage unit 84 side at that time.

The collation unit 86 collates the characteristic data stored in the characteristic storage unit 84 with the characteristic data stored in the characteristic storage unit 85. In this case, since significant feature data is not stored in the feature storage unit 85, the collation results are inconsistent, and a signal indicating "mismatch" is output to the bus 2.

The security management program of the OS identifies the signal indicating "mismatch" in the process S3 of FIG. 2 to ask the display 7 through the display controller 6 whether or not a new signature registration is desired. Is output.

In response to this inquiry message, the user inputs a signature registration operation by operating the pen 11 on the input tablet 10, and the security management program identifies it in step S5 of FIG. 2 and authenticates the signature. The signal switching unit 83 of the mechanism 8 is switched to the feature storage unit 85 side, the feature extraction unit 82 is instructed to output the feature data extracted this time again, and the feature data output from the feature extraction unit 82 is switched to the signal switching unit. Feature storage unit 85 through 83
(S6). It should be noted that, if the sign registration is not input to the inquiry message, the process returns to the step of signature authentication processing S2 again, and the above-described processing is repeated.

After that, the security management program
Processing for clearing all application programs loaded on the main memory 4 is performed (S7). In this case, since it is assumed that the application program is not loaded in the main memory 4, nothing is cleared.

Next, the security management program is displayed on the display 9 through the display controller 6.
A message prompting the user to load the new application program is displayed, and in response to this, the user sets the external storage medium 12 such as an IC card in the external storage interface 5 and operates the pen 11 on the input tablet 10. When the load is requested by, the application program stored in the external storage medium 12 is loaded into the main memory 4 (S8). As a result, the application program can be executed (S4).

When the user stops using the application program and powers off the computer, the operation of the computer stops. At this time, the application programs and data loaded in the main memory 4 have a backup function, and thus are not lost and remain as they are. Further, the characteristic data of the signature of the user stored in the characteristic storage unit 85 is also left as it is.

After that, when the power of the computer is turned on again, the same operation as described above is performed. That is, after the OS is started up, a message prompting the input of a signature is displayed on the display 9, and the user inputs the tablet 1
When the handwriting of the signature is performed by operating the pen 11 on the 0, the handwriting plot data is input to the handwriting input unit 81, the characteristic data is extracted by the characteristic extraction unit 82, and is stored in the characteristic storage unit 84. Then, the collation unit 86 collates the feature data stored in the feature storage unit 85 with the feature data stored in the feature storage unit 84, and the result is
Output to bus 2.

The security management program enables execution of the application program loaded in the main memory 4 if the collation result is "match". As a result, only when the same signature as the signature input when the application program is loaded is input, that is, only the user who loaded the application program can use the application program again.

On the other hand, if the collation result is "mismatch", as described above, it is confirmed whether or not a new signature is to be registered. If not registered, the procedure returns to the step of inputting a signature. After the signature feature data input this time is stored in the feature storage unit 85, the application program in the main memory 4 is cleared and the process proceeds to the loading stage of the new application program. Therefore, a person who newly registers the signature must load a new application program, and cannot illegally use the application program loaded by another person.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another example of a pen input portable computer to which the present invention is applied. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same parts, and 13 denotes a character recognition result formed of a non-volatile memory. It is a storage unit. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of the security management program incorporated in the OS of the computer,
2 is different from FIG. 2 in that in step S3 ′, the signature authentication mechanism 8 authenticates the same signature and the character recognition result of the input signature is the character recognition result registered in the character recognition result storage unit 13. It is determined whether or not they match, and that the character recognition result of the new signature is registered in the character recognition result storage unit 13 in step S9 when the new signature is registered. The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

Now, the application program is not loaded in the main memory 4 of FIG. 3, and the character recognition result storage unit 13 and the characteristic storage unit 85 also have the reference character recognition result and the reference signature feature. Is not saved.

In such a state, when the user turns on the power of the computer, the process S1 is performed as in the previous embodiment.
OS and various peripherals are initialized in
After the startup, the control is transferred to the security management program in the OS, and the security management program activates the signature authentication mechanism 8 to perform the signature authentication processing S2.

The signature authentication mechanism 8 extracts various kinds of predetermined characteristic data from the data of the handwriting plot of the signature input in the same manner as described above, and compares them with the characteristic data stored in the characteristic storage unit 85. . In this case, no significant feature data is stored in the feature storage unit 85,
As a result of the collation, the signals do not match and a signal indicating “mismatch” is output to the bus 2.

In parallel with the operation of the signature authentication mechanism 8,
The input signature is character-recognized by the character recognition function of the pen-input portable computer, and the result is stored in, for example, the main memory 4.

The security management program of the OS identifies the signal indicating "mismatch" from the sign authentication mechanism 8 in the process S3 'of FIG.
When the discrepancy between the character recognition result of the signature stored in the character recognition result and the character recognition result stored in the character recognition result storage unit 13 is identified, the display controller 6 inquires of the display 7 whether or not a new signature registration is desired. Output a message.

In response to this inquiry message, the user inputs a message that the signature is to be registered, and the security management program identifies it in step S5 of FIG. 4, and the characteristic data of the signature input this time is stored in the characteristic storage unit 85. (S6). In addition, the character recognition result of the current signature stored in the main memory 4 is stored in the character recognition result storage unit 13.
(S9).

After that, the security management program
A process for clearing all the application programs loaded in the main memory 4 is performed (S7), and a message prompting the user to load the new application program is displayed on the display 9. In response to this, the user responds to the external storage medium. When 12 is set in the external storage interface 5 to request loading, the application program stored in the external storage medium 12 is loaded into the main memory 4 (S8). As a result, the application program can be executed (S4).

When the user stops using the application program and turns off the power of the computer, the operation of the computer stops. At this time, the application programs and data loaded in the main memory 4 have a backup function, and thus are not lost and remain as they are. In addition, the character recognition result storage unit 13
The character recognition result of the signature of the user and the feature data stored in the feature storage unit 85 are also left as they are.

After that, when the power of the computer is turned on again, the same operation as described above is performed. That is, after the OS is started up, a message prompting the input of a signature is displayed on the display 9, and the user inputs the tablet 1
When the signature is handwritten by operating the pen 11 on the display unit 0, the result of character recognition of the handwritten signature is stored in the main memory 4, and the signature authentication mechanism 8 stores the signature feature in the feature storage unit 85. It is checked whether or not it coincides with the feature data that is stored.

The security management program is loaded in the main memory 4 if it is determined by the signature authentication mechanism 8 that the character recognition result matches the character recognition result stored in the character recognition result storage unit 13. Make the application program executable. As a result, a signature having the same characteristics as the signature input when the application program is loaded is input, and
Only when a signature having the same character recognition result is input, that is, only the user who has loaded the application program can use the application program again.

On the other hand, if the signatures do not match each other or the character recognition results do not match, as described above, it is confirmed whether or not a new signature is to be registered. Returning to the step, when registering, the characteristic data of the signature input this time is stored in the characteristic storage unit 8.
5, the character recognition result is stored in the character recognition result storage unit 13, the application program in the main memory 4 is cleared, and the process proceeds to the loading stage of the new application program.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,
If you use a password consisting of a string of numbers and alphanumerics that has nothing to do with the name as the signature instead of using the name of the user, the synergistic effect between the password verification and the signature verification by the feature verification will make it illegal. The effect of preventing use can be greatly enhanced.

[0046]

As described above, according to the security device for a pen-input portable computer of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

Since it is very difficult for a third party to imitate, it is possible to judge the execution permission of the application program by authenticating the signature by handwriting, which has a unique feature of each person.
It is possible to more reliably prevent unauthorized use by a third party as compared with the case of using a conventional password.

Considering the use by another new legitimate user, a mechanism for newly registering the person's signature is indispensable. However, if the signature is re-registered and it can be used as it is, an unauthorized third party can By re-registering the signature, it can easily be used illegally. However, in the present invention, the application program loaded in the main memory is cleared when a new signature is registered.
Even if the signature is re-registered, the application program cannot be executed, and the unauthorized use can be more reliably prevented.

The higher the accuracy of authentication due to the characteristics of the signature is, the more preferable it is. However, considering the cost, it may be possible that the authentication cannot be performed with such high accuracy. In such cases,
If the signatures are a bit similar, you can use it. In addition to the authentication of the signature, the character recognition results of the signature are also compared, and according to the configuration in which they can be used only when they match each other, for example, by using the same password as the conventional one, the password is first known. If the password is not used, the password cannot be used, and if the handwriting is not similar even if the user knows the password, it can be used in two steps, and the effect of preventing unauthorized use can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a pen input portable computer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of a security management program incorporated in the OS of the computer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another example of a pen-input portable computer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of a security management program incorporated in the OS of the computer shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... CPU 2 ... Bus 3 ... ROM 4 ... Main memory with backup function 5 ... External storage interface 6 ... Display controller 7 ... Tablet interface 8 ... Sign authentication mechanism 81 ... Handwriting input unit 82 ... Feature extraction unit 83 ... Signal Switching unit 84 ... Feature storage unit 85 ... Nonvolatile feature storage unit 86 ... Collation unit 9 ... Display 10 ... Input tablet 11 ... Pen 12 ... External storage medium 13 ... Character recognition result storage unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A security device for a pen-input portable computer having a handwritten character input mechanism, wherein a handwritten signature of a user is input through the input mechanism, and the features of the input signature and a pre-registered signature. The signature authenticating means for verifying the identity of the signature by comparing with the characteristics of the signature and the signature authenticating means for authenticating the signature before starting the execution of the application program, and only when the signature is authenticated with the same signature. A security device for a pen-input portable computer, comprising: a control unit that permits execution of a program. 2. A main memory that retains stored contents even when the power of the computer is turned off is provided, and the control means permits execution of an application program loaded in the main memory when the same signature is authenticated. When the same signature is not authenticated, the signature of the input signature is registered by the user when the signature is requested by the user, and the application program loaded in the main memory is cleared. The security device for a pen-input portable computer according to claim 1. 3. The signature authenticating means, a handwriting input unit for inputting a handwritten signature of the user through the input mechanism, a feature extraction unit for extracting features of the signature input by the handwriting input unit, and a user. A non-volatile feature storage unit that stores the handwritten signature features of the above, and a collation that determines the identity of the signature by collating the features extracted by the feature extraction unit with the features stored in the feature storage unit. The security device for a portable pen-input computer according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. A security device for a pen-input type portable computer having a handwritten character input mechanism, wherein a handwritten signature of a user is input through the input mechanism, and the features of the input signature and the signature registered in advance. The signature authenticating means for verifying the identity of the signature by collating with the characteristics of the signature and the signature authenticating means for authenticating the signature prior to the start of execution of the application program. The security of the pen-input portable computer, characterized in that it comprises a control means for permitting the execution of the application program only when the character recognition result of the signature and the character recognition result of the registered signature match. apparatus. 5. A main memory that retains stored contents even when the power of the computer is turned off is provided, and the control means is loaded in the main memory when the same sign is authenticated and the same character recognition result is obtained. When the application program is allowed to be executed and the same signature is not authenticated and the same character recognition result is not obtained, the user is requested to register the signature, and the characteristics and character recognition of the input signature are performed. The security device for a portable pen-input computer according to claim 4, wherein the result is registered and the application program loaded in the main memory is cleared. 6. The signature authenticating means includes a handwriting input unit for inputting a handwritten signature of the user through the input mechanism, a feature extraction unit for extracting features of the signature input by the handwriting input unit, and a user. A non-volatile feature storage unit that stores the handwritten signature features of the above, and a collation that determines the identity of the signature by collating the features extracted by the feature extraction unit with the features stored in the feature storage unit. 6. The security device for a portable pen-input computer according to claim 5, further comprising: