KR20060087317A - An apparatus of reproducing multimedia content having local storage and a method of protecting the multimedia contents - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a content reproducing apparatus including local storage and a method for protecting the content thereof. The apparatus for reproducing contents according to the present invention includes: local storage for storing contents downloaded through a network; A security manager for classifying contents stored in the local storage according to a predetermined use purpose, and determining a security policy to which different access rights are granted according to the sorted data; And a playback module for playing the content stored in the local storage according to the determined security policy. In particular, it is preferable to classify the data stored in the local storage into general data that does not need protection, content information related to a specific disk, and user information common to the playback apparatus.

As a result, data downloaded and stored in the local storage can be appropriately protected according to the purpose of use.

Description

An apparatus of reproducing multimedia content having local storage and a method of protecting the multimedia contents}

1 is a block diagram showing a content reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a result of classifying data stored in a local storage according to a purpose of use according to the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating a result of classifying an application that accesses data stored in local storage.

4 is a view for explaining a security policy for protecting data stored in the local storage according to the type according to the present invention.

5 is a view illustrating a method of protecting data stored in local storage according to the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reproducing specific disc related content information according to the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing specific disc related content information according to the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of playing content using information related to a user according to the present invention.

9 is an embodiment of an application according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a content reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to a content reproducing apparatus including local storage and a method for protecting the content.

Multimedia content recorded on an optical disc such as a DVD or a Blu-ray Disc is encrypted and recorded to prevent it from being copied or modified by an unauthorized user and used without regard to the content creator's intention. Generally, content is encrypted using a specific key and recorded on a disk, and a key for decrypting the encrypted content is stored in a specific location on the disk.

As a result, the discless playback apparatus cannot read the key for decryption from the disk and thus cannot read or play the encrypted content. In addition, since a key for decryption recorded on the disk cannot be accessed from a device other than the playback apparatus such as a general personal computer, the content recorded on the disk cannot be read or played. That is, the content recorded on the disk is protected from unauthorized access through encryption.

On the other hand, recently developed content playback apparatus can have a network function and local storage (local storage) can download the content data associated with the disk through a web server, etc. specified by the content creator. The downloaded content is stored in local storage and played with the content recorded on the disc.

At this time, the downloaded content stored in the local storage must also be reproduced according to the intention of the content creator, like the content recorded on the disk. That is, to protect the copyright of the content creator should be stored encrypted so that the content is not copied or modified by unauthorized users.

However, unlike a disk, local storage can freely write or erase data, and not only contents related to one disk are stored, but contents related to a plurality of disks may be stored. In addition, data not directly related to the content recorded on the disc, for example, data such as personal information or preference information of a user who uses the playback apparatus may be stored.

As such, various types of content or data having different purposes may be stored in the local storage of the content reproducing apparatus. Therefore, various types of data may be appropriately protected only by protecting data using one encryption method such as a disk. There is a problem that cannot be protected. Thus, there is a need for a method of protecting content or data so that it is used only by authorized applications with legitimate rights, depending on the intended use of data stored in local storage.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a content reproducing apparatus and a method for protecting the content, including a local storage in which various contents and data stored in the local storage of the reproducing apparatus are properly protected according to the purpose of use thereof. It is provided.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for playing content, the apparatus comprising: a local storage storing content downloaded through a network; A security manager for classifying contents stored in the local storage according to a predetermined use purpose, and determining a security policy to which different access rights are granted according to the sorted data; And a playback module for playing the content stored in the local storage according to the determined security policy.

Preferably, the security manager classifies the data stored in the local storage into general data that does not require protection, content information related to a specific disk, and user information common to the playback apparatus.

The security manager classifies an application requesting access to data stored in the local storage into a general application, an application related to a specific disk, and an application related to a playback device, and accesses differently depending on the type of application and whether the application is authenticated. It is desirable to grant authority.

In particular, it is preferable that the security manager checks whether an application related to a specific disk is authenticated and permits access to content information related to the specific disk only when the authentication is confirmed.

It is preferable to check whether the application related to the playback apparatus is authenticated and to allow limited access for managing content information related to a specific disc in units of files when authentication is confirmed.

In addition, the security manager, it is preferable to check whether the disk-related application is authenticated and allow indirect access to information related to the user,

It is particularly desirable to provide an application program interface (API) which is composed of code protected by a playback device for authenticated disc-related applications and which allows indirect access to information related to the user.

In addition, it is preferable that the security manager compares a key used for encrypting content by using unique information about a specific disc or by using unique information about a playback device to confirm authentication.

It is particularly desirable to verify authentication on an individual application basis or on a disk basis.

Meanwhile, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the above-described technical problem, in the method of playing content downloaded through a network, (a) classifying the downloaded content stored in the local storage according to a predetermined purpose of use and classifying Determining a security policy to which different access rights are granted according to the type of data; And (b) playing the content stored in the local storage according to the determined security policy.

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

1 is a block diagram showing a content reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present invention.                     

Referring to FIG. 1, a content player 1 according to the present invention includes a local storage 10, a reader 12, a player 14, and a security manager 16.

The local storage 10 stores content and related data downloaded from the web server 2 designated by the content creator through a network interface (not shown). The read unit 12 reads content and related data from the storage medium 3 such as a disk or the local storage 10. At this time, the content and related data read from the disk are encrypted using a specific key, and the downloaded data stored in the local storage is also encrypted and stored according to a security policy described later. The reproduction unit 14 decodes and reproduces the read content and related data. In particular, the security manager 16 classifies the content and related data stored in the local storage 10 according to its purpose of use, and applies appropriate security policies to the classified data to prevent unauthorized applications from accessing and protect the data. do. That is, it restricts an unauthorized application from accessing related data such as content and user information stored in local storage, and provides an application program interface (API) for restricting access to related data. A more detailed protection method will be described later.

2 is a diagram illustrating a result of classifying data stored in the local storage 10 according to a purpose of use according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, data stored in the local storage 10 may be classified into general data 102, content information 104 related to a specific disc, and information 106 related to a user common to a playback device according to a purpose of use thereof. Can be.                     

More specifically, the first kind of generic information 102 refers to content or data that does not need to be copyright protected. That is, it represents data that any user or application can access and use the data at any time and may modify as necessary.

The second type, Disc specific secure information 104, is data created by a specific content creator and indicates data that needs to be protected by the copyright of the content creator. That is, the content and data related to the disk downloaded from the server 2 provided by the content producer via the network. For example, a user who purchases a disc recorded with a title of matrix can download content information such as a recently updated subtitle file, video file, additional information, advertisement information, etc. from a server 2 provided by the same content producer. have. The content information 104 related to this particular disc is reproduced together with the contents recorded on the specific disc or used only by an application recorded on the specific disc. Therefore, any disk or application that is not associated with a particular disk must be protected from access. The content information 104 related to a particular disk may be further divided into data related to a single disk and data related to a plurality of shared disks. The latter is true when the content is produced in the same studio or as a series. For example, in the case of a title of friends, a plurality of discs are included as a series. In this case, regardless of the number of discs in the title of friends, one of the titles of friends can allow access to the contents and data related to the downloaded disc.

A third type of secure common user information 106 indicates information related to a user who uses the content recorded on the disc through the playback apparatus. For example, information related to a user such as a user ID, a password, and a credit card number provided in the process of downloading content from a server through a corresponding playback device is included. Alternatively, language information, caption style information, screen setting information, and the like may be included as preference information of a user who uses the corresponding playback device. This information is commonly used in the playback device regardless of the disc, and it is necessary to protect the unauthorized user or application from accessing or using this data.

On the other hand, there are three types of applications that access the aforementioned three types of content and related data. 3 is a diagram illustrating a result of classifying an application that accesses data stored in the local storage 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, an application program may be classified into a general application 112, an authenticated application 114 associated with a disc, and a security application 116 associated with a playback device.

First, the generic application 112 refers to an application that has not been authenticated on a disk or application basis. It is desirable to restrict access to data stored in local storage.

Second, the trusted application with matching secure key 114 refers to the following two cases. First, one application is encrypted using a secure key using unique information of a corresponding disk, and another application is authenticated on a disk unit or application unit. Such applications are preferably allowed to access content and data stored in local storage 10 to the extent that authentication is valid. The above-described applications may include an application for reproducing content and data, and a program application for providing various additional functions using the reproduced data.

Finally, a Player Resident Secure application 116 associated with the playback device refers to a security application running on the playback device itself, regardless of the disc. An example is an application for managing files stored in the local storage 10 provided in the playback apparatus. Such an application preferably provides access to information stored in relation to the playback device itself, regardless of the particular disc, such as data generated by the playback device or user information.

On the other hand, in order to properly protect each of the three types of content and related data stored in the above-described local storage according to the purpose of use, the following security policy is applied to the content playback apparatus according to the present invention. That is, in the method for protecting data stored in the local storage according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 described above according to the purpose of using the stored data, 1) general data 102 and 2) content information 104 related to a specific disk And 3) information 106 related to the user, and apply a different security policy to each classified data. In addition, the types of applications that access each classified data are classified as shown in FIG. 3, and a different security policy is applied to each application.

4 is a view for explaining a security policy for protecting data stored in the local storage according to the type according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, first, in the case of the general data 102, three types of applications 112 to 116 may be accessed without restriction.

Second, in the case of the content information 104 related to a specific disk, the general application 112 can not access, but the disk-related authenticated application 114 can access without limitation (A). On the other hand, the playback device-related security application 116 is not able to access and play or execute the content inside, but is allowed to access the file unit for file management to be described later (B).

Third, the information 106 related to the user is the most strictly protected information, and the general application 112 as well as the disk related authenticated application 114 are restricted in access. However, the disk-related authenticated application 114 may indirectly and limitedly provide information related to a user through a specific code provided by the security manager 16 of the playback apparatus 1 according to the present invention, that is, an application program interface (API). 106) (C). Only the playback device-related security application 116 is allowed access without restrictions.

Hereinafter, a security policy according to the type of classified data will be described in more detail.

1) Security Policy Applied to General Data 102

The general data 102 is stored in the local storage 10 without encryption so that any user or application can easily access the data and view and use the information. Since it is stored without encryption as described above, any type of application, such as the general application 112, the disk-related authenticated application 114, or the playback device-related security application 116, can access and use the general data 102 without restriction. have.

2) Security policy applied to content information 104 related to a specific disk

The content information 104 related to the particular disk encrypts the content information 104 using the same Secure Key used to encrypt the content recorded on the specific disk. For example, the content information 104 is encrypted and stored in the local storage 10 through an encryption key using unique information of the corresponding disk. Alternatively, an encryption key may be generated using information unique to the playback apparatus itself, and the content information 104 may be encrypted using the encryption key. A disk related application 114 that is able to access and be authenticated by accessing unique information about a particular disc or unique information about a playback device is allowed to access content information 104 (A).

In general, a user may access a server determined by a content producer who produced a disc through an application (not shown) recorded on the disc, and download content or additional content related to the disc prepared by the content producer in advance. At this time, there are two types of contents provided by the server.

First, the content producer prepares and provides the encrypted content in advance. The playback device may download the already encrypted content and store it in the local storage without any encryption process. When the encryption key used by the content producer can be known, for example, the specific content information 104 can be accessed only when a specific disc is inserted or a designated playback device.

Next, when the playback device downloads content and data from the server 2 and stores the content and data in the local storage 10, the playback device encrypts and stores the downloaded content information 104 using an encryption key using the unique information of the corresponding disk. The case is that one. Of course, information unique to the playback apparatus itself can be encrypted and stored using the encryption key. Accordingly, the user can play the downloaded content only while the disc is in the playback apparatus. In addition, even if an application irrelevant to the disc requests reproduction of the downloaded content information 104, the playback apparatus cannot find a key for decrypting the downloaded content information 104 and thus cannot decrypt it. Information 104 cannot be read or played back.

In summary, it is possible to use both of the above methods, or to use either method to protect the content information 104 associated with a particular disk stored in local storage. The reason for encrypting the content information 104 in this manner is to prevent the content information 104 associated with a particular disc from being reproduced without the disc or being stolen by an application of another disc.

In the case of the general application 112 that is not authenticated, the content information 104 cannot be accessed. That is, an application that cannot be authenticated by accessing unique information about a specific disc or unique information about a playback device is treated as a general application 112 and cannot access content information 104 related to a specific disc.

On the other hand, the application 114, which has received the disk-related authentication, can access the content information 104 without limitation.

On the other hand, the security application 116 related to the playback apparatus does not aim to play the disc, but aims to manage local stories provided in the playback apparatus. Therefore, the security application 116 associated with the playback device cannot access and play the inside of the content information 104 associated with the particular disc. However, in order to manage the local storage, file-based access such as creating, deleting, or storing corresponding content and data in file units is allowed (B).

That is, when the downloaded content information 104 is stored in the local storage 10, the security application 116 related to the playback device reserves a space for storing a corresponding file, generates a file, and stores the downloaded data. Save it. In addition, in order to manage the local storage in order to secure the storage space of the local storage, the content information 104 associated with the disk can be accessed on a file basis without a specific disk. Accordingly, it is possible to confirm that predetermined files exist in the local storage, or sometimes to delete a content or data in a file unit to secure a required local storage space.

3) Security policy applied to information 106 related to the user

The information 106 related to the user should be prevented from being leaked to the outside by unauthorized applications as data related to the user using the specific playback device. For this purpose, this data is encrypted and stored using unique information about the playback apparatus, and decrypted and used as necessary. Therefore, only applications that can access the unique information about the playback device can use this data. Therefore, access of the general application 112 or the disk-related authenticated application 114, which cannot access the unique information about the playback device, is restricted.

However, the security management unit 16 of the playback apparatus according to the present invention provides an application program interface (API) as a unique code that can access information 106 related to a user. In order to prevent unauthorized applications from requesting user information through the API, the playback apparatus first checks whether the application is authenticated. Therefore, in the case of the disk-related authenticated application 114, the user-informed information 106 may be indirectly and limitedly accessed using an API provided by the security management unit (C).

On the other hand, a playback device-related security application 116 that can access unique information about the playback device can access the information 106 related to the user without limitation.

On the other hand, the authentication of the above-described application can be classified in two ways. One way is to authenticate the application itself. This method should be used when applications exist individually. For example, in the case of an application transmitted through a broadcast signal, an individual application requires authentication.

Another way is to authenticate the disk itself instead of authenticating the applications individually. In other words, all applications recorded on the authenticated disc are recognized as authenticated. It can be applied to the case of an application recorded on a disk. In addition, applications downloaded from the server in association with the authenticated disk can also be considered authenticated. In this case, it is preferable that the downloaded application is encrypted so that it can be decrypted and executed only through the key recorded on the disk. Since unencrypted applications can be modified by unauthorized users, these applications do not have access to user information.

In addition, each authorized application 114 may store the user related information 106 used during execution again in the local storage 10. At this time, each application requests storage to the local storage 10 through an API provided by the playback apparatus so that user information is not stolen by other applications. The playback device receiving the storage request encrypts the information unique to the playback device using the encryption key and stores the user related information 106 in the local storage 10.

Accordingly, when the later authenticated application 114 requests data through the API, the corresponding data is decrypted and provided to the authenticated application 114, thereby allowing the unauthorized user to access the data in any manner not defined by the API. Prevent access. In addition, each application encrypts its own stored data in a unique manner and requests the playback device to prevent theft / copy of data that may occur between authorized applications.

The method of protecting data stored in the local storage according to the present invention described above is summarized in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, data stored in the local storage 10 is classified into general data 102, disk related content information 104, and user related information 106 according to the purpose of use thereof, In step 200, different security policies are determined. A detailed security policy is as described above with reference to FIG. 4. The content is played or the application data is executed according to the determined security policy (step 210). 6 to 8 illustrate in more detail the step 210 of playing content or executing an application.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a method A for reproducing specific disc related content information 104 according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, if the disk-related application 114 requests the disk-related content information 104 as the content to be played (step 212), the disk-related encryption key is checked (step 214). In this case, when the unique information about the disc can be accessed, that is, when the disc is inserted into the playback device, the encryption keys match (step 216), and the corresponding content information 104 can be played (step 218). However, if the disc is not inserted into the playback device or if a legitimate disc is inserted, the encryption keys do not match (step 216), and thus the content disc cannot be played. In this case, a security error message is displayed (step 220).                     

7 is a flowchart showing a method (B) of managing specific disc related content information 104 according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, when a playback device-related security application 116 requests to store new data or receives a user's request (step 232), the storage space of the storage device is checked (step 234). If sufficient (step 236), a new file can be created (step 238). However, if there is not enough storage space (step 236), the storage space may be secured by deleting a predetermined file from the local storage (step 240). That is, although the playback device related security application 116 cannot directly access and reproduce the content of the content, the playback device related security application 116 may manage the specific disc related content information 104 on a file basis.

8 is a flowchart showing a method (C) for playing content using information 106 related to a user according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the disk related application 114 requests information 106 related to a user (step 252), the application authentication is checked whether the disk related application 114 has an access right (step 254). In this case, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, authentication may be confirmed in units of individual applications, or all applications included in a specific disk may be authenticated at once. If the authentication is confirmed (step 256), the information 104 related to the user requested indirectly is provided through the API provided by the security management unit of the playback device (step 258). However, if it is determined that there is no access right (step 256), it does not allow access to the information 104 related to the user through the API and displays an authentication error message (step 260).

9 is an embodiment of an application according to the present invention.

9, an example of the implementation of an application when the disk related application 114 requests information 106 related to a user is shown. The disk related application 114 may access information 106 related to the user using the application program interface (API) 272 according to the present invention. If authentication is verified, information 106 related to the user, such as the user's credit card number, may be accessed (276), as illustrated. However, if authentication fails, an authentication error message may be displayed as shown in the example shown (274).

On the other hand, the method for playing the content according to the present invention can be created by a computer program. Codes and code segments constituting the program can be easily inferred by a computer programmer in the art. In addition, the program is stored in a computer readable media (computer readable media), and implements a method of playing content by being read and executed by a computer. The information storage medium includes a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, and a carrier wave medium.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a content reproducing apparatus including the local storage in which various contents and data stored in the local storage of the reproducing apparatus are properly protected according to the purpose of use thereof, and a method for protecting the contents thereof.

That is, data stored in the local storage is classified into general data, content information related to disk, and information related to a user according to the purpose of use, and protected by applying different security policies.

In addition, applications that access each data are divided into general applications, authenticated applications related to disks, and security applications related to playback devices to protect data by granting different security access rights according to their purpose of use.

As a result, data downloaded and stored in the local storage can be appropriately protected according to the purpose of use.

Claims (19)

In the device for playing content, Local storage for storing content downloaded via a network; A security manager for classifying the contents stored in the local storage according to a predetermined purpose of use, and determining a security policy to which different access rights are granted according to the sorted data; And And a playback module for playing content stored in the local storage according to the determined security policy. The method of claim 1, And the security manager classifies the data stored in the local storage into general data that does not need protection, content information related to a specific disk, and user information common to the playback apparatus. The method of claim 2, The security manager classifies an application requesting access to data stored in the local storage into a general application, an application related to a specific disk, and an application related to a playback device, and according to the type of the application and whether the application is authenticated. A playback device characterized by granting different access rights. The method of claim 3, And the security manager confirms whether or not an application related to the specific disk is authenticated and permits access to content information related to the specific disk only when authentication is confirmed. The method of claim 3, And the security manager checks whether an application related to the playback apparatus is authenticated and permits limited access for managing content information related to the specific disk on a file basis when authentication is confirmed. The method of claim 3, And the security manager checks whether the disk related application is authenticated and permits indirect access to information related to the user. The method of claim 6, The security manager is composed of code protected by a playback apparatus for the authenticated disk-related application, and provides a playback program interface (API) for indirectly accessing information related to the user. . The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, And the security manager compares a key used for encrypting the content by using unique information about a specific disk or by using unique information about a playback device to confirm whether the authentication is performed. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, The security management unit, characterized in that for verifying the authentication by the individual application unit, or by the disk unit. In the method of playing content downloaded via a network, (a) classifying the downloaded content stored in the local storage according to a predetermined purpose of use and determining a security policy to which different access rights are granted according to the sorted data; And (b) playing the content stored in the local storage according to the determined security policy. The method of claim 10, Determining the security policy, and (a1) classifying the data stored in the local storage into general data that does not require protection, content information related to a specific disk, and user information common to the playback apparatus. The method of claim 11, Determining the security policy, (a2) classifying an application requesting access to data stored in the local storage into a general application, an application related to a specific disk, and an application related to a playback device. The method of claim 12, Determining the security policy, (a3) reproducing different access rights according to the type of the application and whether the application is authenticated. The method of claim 13, Granting the different access rights, A reproduction method for confirming whether or not an application related to the specific disk is authenticated and allowing access to content information related to the specific disk only when the authentication is confirmed. The method of claim 13, Granting the different access rights, And a limited access for checking whether an application related to the playback apparatus is authenticated and for managing content information related to the specific disk in units of files when the authentication is confirmed. The method of claim 13, Granting the different access rights, And reproducing the disc related application and allowing indirect access to information related to the user. The method of claim 16, Granting the different access rights, And a code protected by a playback device for the authenticated disk-related application, and providing an application program interface (API) for indirectly accessing information related to the user. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, The granting of the different access rights may include comparing the keys used for encrypting the contents by using unique information about a specific disc or by using unique information about a playback device to confirm the authentication. Reproduction method characterized by the above. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, The step of granting different access rights, playback method characterized in that for verifying the authentication of the individual application unit or a disc unit.

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