KR101392756B1 - Method for automatic encryption and decryption of important file - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for automatically encrypting and decrypting an important file is disclosed. According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for automatically encrypting and decrypting an important file which is performed on a computer comprises the steps of: recognizing a conversion into an idle state; encrypting files set as important files among stored files; decrypting the important files when the computer is converted from the idle state into an active state. According to the present invention, ease of usage can be provided while maintaining security by automatically encrypting important files when a user does not use the important files, and automatically decrypting the important files when the user uses the important files again.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for automatic encryption and decryption of important files,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to file encryption / decryption, and more particularly, to an automatic encryption / decryption method for a computer important file.

 Personal computers are vulnerable in many ways, for example, when malicious code is executed to expose sensitive files (such as documents containing personal information) to the outside, or to use legitimate users Sensitive information such as confidential information or privacy information may be exposed by someone who has no access to the computer while the computer is idle, or information may be exposed on a stolen personal computer.

In order to cope with these cases, it is necessary to make it easy for users with party authority to use them when they are in the workspace, but in other environments, a means to protect important files is needed.

Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2012-0086428 (public date August 03, 2012) Wireless lock security method and device of personal computer

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for automatically encrypting important files in a situation where a user is not using the apparatus and a recording medium on which a program for executing the method is recorded.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for automatically encrypting and decrypting important files having different levels of encryption or decryption according to situations of performing encryption to enhance security or external access to important files.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the following preferred embodiments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically encrypting and decrypting important files performed in a computer, the method comprising: recognizing a transition to a sleep state; Encrypting files that are set as important files among the stored files; And decrypting the important file upon switching from the sleep state to the active state, and a recording medium on which a program for executing the method is recorded.

Here, the dormancy state is any one of a power-off state of a computer, a log off state, a power save mode execution state, and a lock program execution state by a specific program, and the encryption level is determined according to each situation .

In addition, it is possible to determine whether the user inputs a decryption key for the decryption according to each situation.

In addition, the method may further include storing a history of accessing the important file while the important file is encrypted. When the history is generated, the important file can be decrypted only when a decryption key is input from the user.

The method may further include transmitting the decryption key together with information on the history to a predetermined mobile terminal.

The step of encrypting the important file may include generating an important compressed file in which the important folder is compressed and deleting the important folder if the important folder exists, can do.

In addition, when an important file protection message is received from a preset personal terminal, the user terminal is switched to the dormant state to perform encryption of the important file, and the personal terminal can send the important file protection message if the personal terminal is out of a specific location.

Also, when an important file protection message is received from an access management system connected through a network, the access control system switches to the dormant state to perform encryption on the important file, the access management system manages access to the user of the computer, And can send the important file protection message when the user advances to the outside.

In addition, the step of decrypting the important file may include a step of checking a usage rate of each important file, and it may be determined whether to decrypt each important file according to the usage rate.

The step of decrypting the important file may include the step of confirming the priority of each of the important files, and the decryption time point may be determined according to the priority.

According to the present invention, important files are automatically encrypted in a situation where the user is not using them, and automatically decrypted when the user uses the device, thereby providing convenience in use while maintaining security.

In addition, the present invention may vary the level of encryption or decryption according to circumstances such as performing encryption to enhance security or external access to important files.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an outline process for automatic file encryption and decryption of an important file according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.
FIG. 2 is a table showing encryption and decryption methods according to the type of a sleeping state according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of decrypting an important file according to access status of an important file according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view illustrating a user interface screen for a decryption key notification message displayed on a portable terminal of a user according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of decrypting an encrypted important file according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an entire system for performing automatic encryption and decryption of important files in a computer by an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout the specification and claims. The description will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an outline process for an important file automatic encryption / decryption according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the computer recognizes a transition to a sleep state (S10). The sleep state is a state in which the computer is turned off, a log off state, a state in which the power save mode is executed, a lock mode (e.g., a password is input for unlocking) Or a situation in which the user is in a state of being in a state of being. That is, in this embodiment, a situation in which a user can not use a computer is defined as a dormant state.

The computer encrypts the preset files as important files before switching to the sleep state (S20). Important files can be selected and set daily by the user, or they can be automatically set to recently used files, files containing personal information, and the like. And, according to an example, a user can set important files on a per folder basis. In other words, a specific folder can be set as an important folder. In this case, the computer creates an important compressed file in which the important folder is compressed, processes it as an important file, and can delete the original folder. According to this, if there is a file to be set as an important file, the user can simply set the important file by moving the file to the important folder.

According to this embodiment, important files are automatically encrypted in a situation where the user does not use the computer, so that security can be maintained even if important files are leaked to the outside by theft of the computer or a malicious program.

The computer determines whether the sleep state is terminated and is switched to the active state (S30), and decrypts the important files that have been encrypted when the active state is switched (S40).

Thus, the user can use important files decrypted as they were before. Here, when switching to the active state, a user authentication procedure such as an authentication method using a password may be performed. According to an example, when a user authentication procedure is performed, all the important files can be automatically decrypted (hereinafter referred to as automatic decryption). If the user is authenticated without a user authentication process, only important files can be decrypted have.

FIG. 2 is a table showing encryption and decryption methods according to a type of a sleeping state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is possible to set whether or not the user is logged in (that is, the user authentication procedure), the encryption level, and the automatic decryption according to the type of the sleep state.

As shown in the figure, for example, when the power is turned off, the encryption level is set to a low level (lower level) when the power is turned off. When the system is activated and the login is successful, .

Or the power saving mode is executed (it can be executed if the user does not use the device for a predetermined period of time), the encryption level is set to a high level (upper grade), and the automatic decryption is not executed, The decryption of the important file proceeds. According to an example, the decryption key may be encrypted so as to be changed every time. Accordingly, when automatic decryption is not performed, the computer transmits the encryption key to a predetermined user's portable terminal (e.g., a smart phone or the like). Accordingly, the user can decrypt the important file using the encryption key displayed on his / her portable terminal.

When the lock mode is executed by a specific program, a login procedure for releasing the corresponding lock mode must be performed, whereby the encryption level is set to a level lower than the middle level, and the decryption can proceed to automatic decryption.

The encryption level can be set in various ways. According to an example, the level can be determined according to the data amount of the decryption key. As an easy example, a decryption key based on a combination of four digits or letters is set when the encryption level is lower, and a decryption key of 10 or more digits can be set when the encryption level is upper level.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of decrypting an important file according to access status of an important file according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a decryption key notification FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a user interface screen for a message. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, after the important file is encrypted (S310), it is determined whether access to the encrypted important file exists (S320). An easy example is when malicious code is executed and critical files are leaked out of the network. Another example is to detect if someone copies an important file without a decryption procedure by inputting a cryptographic key.

When the access to the important file occurs, the computer stores the access history. If the automatic decryption function is set, the computer turns off the automatic decryption function (S330). That is, the computer decrypts the important file only by inputting the decryption key. Here, turning off the automatic decryption function can be performed only for important files having access history, or for all important files regardless of access to certain important files.

The computer transmits the decryption key for decrypting the history information and the encrypted important file to the portable terminal of the user (S340).

Referring to FIG. 4 illustrating a decryption key notification message received and displayed in the portable terminal of the user, an access history 410 of an important file is displayed on one side of the screen, The decryption key 420 is displayed.

Accordingly, the user can immediately check access to his / her computer from a remote location, and can know the decryption key for decrypting manually as the automatic decryption function is turned off. Of course, according to another example, the decryption key is not variable and the same key may always be used. In this case, it is not always necessary to transmit the decryption key.

So far, the case where all the important files are decoded immediately after switching from the sleep state to the active state has been mainly described. According to another embodiment, when the decoding of too many important files is performed at once, a processing load may be generated, so that it is possible to decrypt only a part or decrypt important files at different points in time.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of decrypting an encrypted key file according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the computer is recognized to be in the active state (S510), the computer checks the utilization rate or priority of each encrypted important file (S520).

The time used in proportion to the generated date, the number of times of use for a certain period, and the like can be set as the usage rate. The priority may be determined according to the usage rate (for example, the higher the usage rate is, the higher the priority is set), or may be set according to the period set as the important file or directly set by the user's choice.

The computer determines whether the important files are automatically decoded or decoded according to the usage rate or priority of the identified important files (S530).

For example, since the probability of re-use of important files whose usage rate is less than a predetermined value is low, decryption can be performed in real time when a user's access command is input without performing automatic decryption. Or for an important file whose usage rate is less than a predetermined value, the automatic decryption may be performed only when the transition from the transition to the sleep state to the active state is repeated a predetermined number of times.

The important files having a high priority are directly decoded automatically, and the important files having a low priority are recorded at a different point in time (for example, a point in time when the user's computer usage is not performed for a predetermined time, The time at which the program is executed, etc.).

Until now, only the case where encryption and decryption of important files proceed by switching to a sleep state only in the computer itself has been described.

According to another embodiment, the computer may switch to a sleep state by an instruction received from outside via a communication network to perform automatic encryption of important files.

6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an entire system for performing automatic encryption and decryption of important files in a computer by an external device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6, when the important file protection message is received from the user's portable terminal 30 or the access management system 50 such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, or the like, It performs automatic encryption and decryption of important files.

The portable terminal 30 measures the position from time to time by the position measuring means (for example, a GPS receiver or the like) provided and when the position is out of a specific region (for example, an area where the computer 10 is located) And sends a critical file protection message to the computer 10. In other words, if the user leaves the computer 10 while holding the portable terminal 30 and moves to another place, the portable terminal 30 recognizes this and transmits the important file protection message to the computer 10.

When the computer 10 is provided in a specific space such as a company, the entrance management system 50 that manages people entering and exiting the space recognizes the entrance of the user to the outside (for example, access control A user recognition using a card or facial recognition, etc.) and sends an important file protection message to the user's computer 10.

Therefore, the computer can be kept in a dormant state by a message received from an external device such as the portable terminal 30 or the access management system 50, as well as a self-recognizable sleeping state as shown in Fig. 2 And to perform automatic encryption / decryption of important files.

The above-described important file automatic encryption / decryption method according to the present invention can be implemented as a computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording media storing data that can be decoded by a computer system. For example, it may be a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, or the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed and executed in a computer system connected to a computer network, and may be stored and executed as a code readable in a distributed manner.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made.

10: Computer
30: Portable terminal
50: Access control system

Claims (11)

A method for automatically encrypting and decrypting important files performed in a computer,
Recognizing a transition to a sleep state;
Encrypting files that are set as important files among the stored files; And
And decrypting the critical file when transitioning from the sleep state to the active state,
Wherein the key file is decrypted only when a history of accessing the important file is generated while the key file is encrypted and a decryption key is input from the user.
The method according to claim 1,
The sleeping state is any one of a state in which the computer is turned off, a state in which the computer is turned off, a state in which the power saving mode is executed, a state in which the lock mode is executed by a specific program, and the encryption level is determined according to each situation Characterized by an automatic file decryption method for important files.
The method of claim 2,
And deciding whether or not the user inputs a decryption key for the decryption according to each of the situations.
delete The method according to claim 1,
And transmitting the decryption key together with information on the history to a predetermined mobile terminal.
A method for automatically encrypting and decrypting important files performed in a computer,
Recognizing a transition to a sleep state;
Encrypting the important files among the stored files, if the important folders exist, generating important compressed files compressed by the important folders, deleting the important folders, and processing the important compressed files as the important files; And
And decrypting the important file when the active state is changed from the sleep state to the active state.
delete delete delete delete A recording medium on which a program for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 5 to 6 is readable by a digital information processing apparatus.

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