JP6606868B2 - Information processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as image forming apparatuses have become more sophisticated, a license management system is known in which some functions can be used using a dedicated license authentication device called a dongle (Patent Document 1).

  In a conventional license management method using a dongle, for example, there is a possibility that the dongle is illegally copied before it is connected to the image forming apparatus. Conventionally, when a dongle is illegally copied, the use of this dongle may make it possible to use functions of an image forming apparatus that should not be originally usable.

  The disclosed technology aims to improve security in managing license information.

The disclosed technology is an information processing apparatus that operates according to license information that enables a predetermined function, and detects a connection of a storage medium and uniquely identifies the storage medium from the storage medium. A data acquisition unit for acquiring unique information and first encrypted license information obtained by encrypting the license information, decrypting the first encrypted license information, the information processing apparatus, and the storage medium When the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are not associated with each other, the decrypted license information is converted into the first unique information, as a second encrypted license information is encrypted using a second unique information uniquely identifying the information processing apparatus, and a write unit for writing to the storage medium, and the information processing apparatus, the storage medium Are not associated with each other, a license information setting unit that associates the license information decrypted by the common key decryption unit with a function that can be used in the information processing apparatus, and a common key decryption unit decrypts the license information A second unique information encryption unit that encrypts the license information using the second unique information, and encrypts the information encrypted by the second unique information encryption unit using a common key. A common key encryption unit, and a first unique information encryption unit that encrypts information encrypted by the common key encryption unit using the first unique information, and the writing unit The information encrypted by the first unique information encryption unit is written into the storage medium as second encrypted license information.

  Security in the management of license information can be improved.

It is a figure which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure explaining the functional composition of an information processor. It is a figure which shows an example of the data for dongle production | generation. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data for management. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the dongle production | generation process part of information processing apparatus. It is a figure explaining the process of a dongle production | generation process part. 6 is a first flowchart illustrating processing of a management processing unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating processing of a management processing unit when an image forming apparatus is first activated. 10 is a second flowchart illustrating processing of a management processing unit of the image forming apparatus. 5 is a flowchart for explaining start-up processing of the image forming apparatus.

  Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the present embodiment.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a dongle generation processing unit 110 for making a general storage medium a dongle 200. The dongle generation processing unit 110 generates encrypted license information obtained by encrypting license information, which will be described later, and writes the encrypted information in the storage medium, thereby setting the storage medium as the dongle 200.

  The dongle 200 of this embodiment is a device (storage medium) that can be connected to the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300. Specifically, for example, a general USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or the like is used. The dongle 200 according to the present embodiment is a dongle necessary for managing the license information of the image forming apparatus 300 by writing the encryption license information by the information processing apparatus 100.

  The license information in the present embodiment is information indicating that a predetermined function in the image forming apparatus 300 can be used. The image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment reads the license information, and thus can use a predetermined function specified in the license information.

  The image forming apparatus 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a management processing unit 310, and the management processing unit 310 interprets license information from the encrypted license information written in the dongle 200. ) Is determined.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment includes an input device 11, an output device 12, an arithmetic processing device 13, an external storage device I / F (interface) 14, an internal storage device 15, a driver device 16, and an interface device 17.

  The input device 11 is used to input various types of information, and is used for operations that cause the dongle generation processing unit 110 to execute processing, for example. The output device 12 is used to output various types of information. Specifically, the output device 12 is, for example, a display.

  The arithmetic processing unit 13 executes various programs stored in the internal storage device 15 and controls the information processing apparatus 100 as a whole. Note that the dongle generation program that implements the dongle generation processing unit 110 of the present embodiment is a part of various programs stored in the internal storage device 15.

  The external storage device I / F 14 removably connects the dongle 200. The internal storage device 15 stores various data necessary for the processing of the dongle generation processing unit 110. The internal storage device 15 stores various programs including a dongle generation program.

  The driver device 16 reads a program stored in, for example, the recording medium 18 and stores it in the internal storage device 15. The interface device 17 includes a modem, a LAN card, and the like, and is used for connecting to a network.

  The dongle generation program of this embodiment is installed from the recording medium 18 to the internal storage device 15 via the driver device 16 when the recording medium 18 on which the dongle generation program is recorded is set in the driver device 16. The dongle generation program downloaded from the network is installed in the internal storage device 15 via the interface device 17.

  Next, a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus 300 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 31, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 32, and a ROM 34 and a RAM 35 as a system memory device 33, and is one of information processing devices. The image forming apparatus 300 includes an SD memory card slot 37, a USB interface 38, and a network interface 39 as the interface device 36. Further, the image forming apparatus 300 includes a storage device 40, an operation display device 41, an engine device 42, and a scanner device 43.

  The CPU 31 performs various processes in cooperation with various programs stored in advance in the ROM 34 or the storage device 40, which will be described later, using the predetermined area of the RAM 35 as a work area, and comprehensively controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 300. The various programs include a management program that realizes the function of the management processing unit 310 described later.

  The ASIC 32 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing having hardware elements for image processing, and has a function as a bridge for connecting the CPU 31 and the device.

  The system memory device 33 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing a printer, and the like, and includes a ROM 34, a RAM 35, and the like. Here, the ROM 34 is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 35 is a volatile memory that can be written and read and used as a memory for developing programs and data, a drawing memory for printers, and the like. It is.

  The interface device 36 is an interface for detachably connecting the image forming apparatus 300 and an external device, and connecting the image forming apparatus 300 and an external device via a network. Specifically, the interface device 36 includes an SD memory card slot 37 into which an SD card (registered trademark) as an external storage device is inserted, a USB interface 38 into which a USB flash memory as an external storage device is inserted, and a network. And a network interface 39 for connecting to the network.

  In the present embodiment, the interface device 36 includes an SD card memory, a USB flash memory, and an interface for connecting to a network. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  The storage device 40 includes a storage medium that can be magnetically, electrically, or optically recorded, and stores a program, various setting information, and the like related to the control of the image forming apparatus 300 in a rewritable manner. The storage device 40 stores data input via the scanner device 43 and the interface device 36.

  The operation display device 41 is a portion that performs an interface between the image forming apparatus 300 and a user, and includes a display device such as an LCD (liquid crystal display device) and an input device such as a key switch. The operation display device 41 displays various states and operation methods of the device on the LCD under the control of the CPU 31, detects an input from the user via a touch panel or a key switch group, and outputs it to the CPU 31.

  The engine device 42 is a printer engine or the like, for example, a black and white plotter, a one-drum color plotter, a four-drum color plotter, or a fax unit. The engine device 42 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter.

  The scanner device 43 includes a line sensor composed of a CCD photoelectric conversion element, an A / D converter, and a drive circuit thereof, and the digital data of 8 bits for each of RGB from the density information of the document obtained by scanning the set document. Image data is generated and output to the CPU 31.

  The image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, an operation display device 41, an engine device 42, a scanner device 43, an operation display device 41, and an information processing device including devices other than the engine device 42 and the scanner device 43. 3 may be connected to each other.

  Next, functions of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a dongle generation processing unit 110. The dongle generation processing unit 110 of the present embodiment is realized by the arithmetic processing device 13 executing a dongle generation program.

  The dongle generation processing unit 110 of the present embodiment includes a first unique information acquisition unit 111, a first unique information encryption unit 112, a common key encryption unit 113, a writing unit 114, and a dongle generation data storage unit 115.

  When the storage medium to be the dongle 200 is connected to the information processing apparatus 100, the first specific information acquisition unit 111 is unique information that can be uniquely identified within the connected storage medium. To get. In the following description of the present embodiment, dongle specific information that uniquely identifies a storage medium (dongle) is referred to as first specific information.

  The first unique information encryption unit 112 encrypts the given information using the first unique information as a key.

  The common key encryption unit 113 encrypts given information with a common key shared by the image forming apparatus 300 and the information processing apparatus 100. The common key of this embodiment is given to both the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300 by an administrator or the like in advance.

  The writing unit 114 writes the designated information in the storage medium that is the dongle 200. Specifically, the writing unit 114 writes the encrypted license information indicating the encrypted license information to the storage medium that becomes the dongle 200.

  The dongle generation data storage unit 115 stores data used for processing for setting the storage medium as the dongle 200 in, for example, a predetermined storage area of the internal storage device 15. The dongle generation data of this embodiment is given to the information processing apparatus 100 in advance by an administrator or the like.

  The dongle generation data will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of dongle generation data.

  The dongle generation data 116 of this embodiment includes license information, a common key, and first unique information (dongle unique information) as information items.

  The value of the item “license information” is information indicating that a predetermined function of the image forming apparatus 300 can be used. The value of the item “license information” may be set by the user, for example, or may be given to the information processing apparatus 100 in advance. In the example of FIG. 5, “function A” is stored as the value of the item “license information”.

  The value of the item “common key” is a value given in advance, and is a key common to the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300. In the example of FIG. 5, “key123” is stored as the value of the item “common key”. The common key value of this embodiment is used for encryption in the common key encryption unit 113.

  The value of the item “first unique information” is a value obtained from the dongle 200 by the first unique information acquisition unit 111. More specifically, the value of the item “first unique information” is a value obtained from the storage medium before becoming the dongle 200 by the first unique information acquisition unit 111. The first unique information of the present embodiment is, for example, a serial number of a USB memory when the storage medium is a USB memory. In the example of FIG. 5, “dongle 789” is stored as the value of the item “first unique information”. The first unique information is used for encryption in the first unique information encryption unit 112.

  In the following description, the value of the item “license information” is simply called license information, the value of the item “common key” is simply called a common key, and the value of the item “first unique information” is simply called first unique information. .

  Next, a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a management processing unit 310. The management processing unit 310 is realized by the CPU 31 executing a management program.

  The management processing unit 310 of this embodiment includes a dongle detection unit 311, a first unique information acquisition unit 312, a second unique information acquisition unit 313, a first unique information decryption unit 314, a common key decryption unit 315, and a second unique property. An information decoding unit 316 is included. In addition, the management processing unit 310 includes a license information determination unit 317, a license information comparison unit 318, a license information setting unit 319, a data acquisition unit 320, an error information notification unit 321, a first unique information encryption unit 322, and a common key encryption. Part 323.

  Further, the management processing unit 310 includes a second unique information encryption unit 324, a writing unit 325, an activation unit 326, a setting presence / absence determination unit 327, and a management data storage unit 328.

  The dongle detection unit 311 detects that the dongle 200 is connected to the image forming apparatus 300.

  The first unique information acquisition unit 312 acquires, from the connected dongle 200, first unique information that can uniquely identify the dongle 200 built in the dongle 200.

  The second unique information acquisition unit 313 acquires unique information of the image forming apparatus 300 built in the image forming apparatus 300 that can uniquely identify the image forming apparatus 300. In the following description of the present embodiment, the unique information of the image forming apparatus 300 is referred to as second unique information.

  The first unique information decryption unit 314 decrypts the given information using the first unique information acquired by the first unique information acquisition unit 312 as a key.

  The common key decryption unit 315 decrypts given information using a predetermined common key in the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300.

  The second unique information decryption unit 316 decrypts the given information using the second unique information that is the unique information of the image forming apparatus 300 acquired by the second unique information acquisition unit 313 as a key.

  The license information determination unit 317 determines whether or not the decrypted information is license information. In the present embodiment, whether or not the image forming apparatus 300 and the dongle 200 are associated is determined according to the determination result of the license information determination unit 317. Details of the determination by the license information determination unit 317 will be described later.

  The license information comparison unit 318 compares whether or not the decrypted license information matches the license information already set in the image forming apparatus 300.

  The license information setting unit 319 sets the decrypted license information in the image forming apparatus 300.

  The data acquisition unit 320 acquires the encryption license information stored in the dongle 200 from the dongle 200.

  When the management processing unit 310 detects an error, the error information notification unit 321 notifies the image forming apparatus 300 of the error.

  The first unique information encryption unit 322 encrypts the given information using the first unique information acquired by the first unique information acquisition unit 312 as a key.

  The common key encryption unit 323 encrypts given information using a common key common to the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300.

  The second unique information encryption unit 324 encrypts the given information using the second unique information acquired by the second unique information acquisition unit 313 as a key. The writing unit 325 writes the encrypted license information into the dongle 200.

  The activation unit 326 activates the image forming apparatus 300 after the processing of the management processing unit 310 is completed.

  The setting presence / absence determination unit 327 determines whether license information is set in the image forming apparatus 300.

  The management data storage unit 328 stores management data used for processing of the management processing unit 310 in a predetermined storage area of the system memory 33, for example.

  The management data of the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of management data.

  The management data of the present embodiment includes second unique information, first unique information, encrypted license information, license information, and a common key as information items.

  The value of the item “second unique information” is unique information built in the image forming apparatus 300 that can uniquely identify the image forming apparatus 300.

  The value of the item “second unique information” in the present embodiment may be unique information of the engine device 42 that uniquely identifies the engine device 42 built in the engine device 42 of the image forming apparatus 300, for example. . For example, when the image forming apparatus 300 includes the information processing apparatus 3, the information processing apparatus uses the engine apparatus 42 specific information connected to the subsequent stage of the information processing apparatus 3 as the second specific information. The second unique information may be information unique to the scanner device 43, for example. Furthermore, the second unique information may include, for example, both information unique to the scanner device 43 and information unique to the engine device 42.

  The value of the item “second unique information” is used as a decryption key by the second unique information decryption unit 316 and as an encryption key by the second unique information encryption unit 324, respectively. In the example of FIG. 7, “mfp456” is stored as the value of the item “second unique information”.

  The value of the item “first unique information” is information that can uniquely identify the storage medium serving as the dongle 200. The first unique information is used as a decryption key by the first unique information decryption unit 314 and as an encryption key by the first unique information encryption unit 322, respectively.

  The value of the item “encrypted license information” is data acquired from the dongle 200 by the data acquisition unit 320 when the image forming apparatus 300 is activated.

  In the present embodiment, the encryption license information acquired from the dongle 200 when the image forming apparatus 300 is started for the first time is different from the encryption license information acquired from the dongle 200 when the image forming apparatus 300 is started for the second time or later.

  In the following description, the encrypted license information acquired from the dongle 200 at the first activation is referred to as first encrypted license information. The encrypted license information acquired from the dongle 200 at the second and subsequent startups is referred to as second encrypted license information. Details of the first and second encryption license information will be described later.

  The first encrypted license information is information that the information processing apparatus 100 encrypts and writes the license information to the dongle 200. The second encrypted license information is information obtained by the image forming apparatus 300 encrypting the license information and writing it in the dongle 200.

  The image forming apparatus 300 acquires the license information by decrypting the first or second encrypted license information. Further, the image forming apparatus 300 of the present embodiment temporarily holds the first or second encrypted license information in the process of decrypting the first or second encrypted license information.

  That is, the value of the item “encrypted license information” is the first or second encrypted license information temporarily held, and “01234456789” is held in the example of FIG. The value of the item “encrypted license information” is decrypted into license information by applying a decryption process of the image forming apparatus 300 described later.

  The value of the item “license information” is information that enables a predetermined function in the image forming apparatus 300 to be used, and is information that is encrypted by the information processing apparatus 100 and written in the dongle 200.

  The value of the item “license information” in the present embodiment may be information indicating a specific function of the image forming apparatus 300, for example. Specific functions of the image forming apparatus 300 include, for example, a function that enables a specific page description language to be used, an aggregation function that aggregates and prints a plurality of pages during printing, and the like.

  The image forming apparatus 300 sets the license information acquired through data acquisition or decryption from the dongle 200 in the image forming apparatus 300 and determines the operation of the image forming apparatus 300.

  The value of the item “common key” is the same as the common key described in FIG.

  In the following description of the embodiment, the value of the item “second unique information” is simply referred to as second unique information, the value of the item “encrypted license information” is simply referred to as encrypted license information, and the item “license information”. "Is simply called license information.

  Next, processing of the dongle generation processing unit 110 of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the dongle generation processing unit of the information processing apparatus.

  When a storage medium is connected to the external storage device I / F 14 of the information processing apparatus 100, the dongle generation processing unit 110 of the present embodiment refers to the dongle generation data 116 by the common key encryption unit 113, and the license information Is encrypted with the common key (step S801).

  Subsequently, the dongle generation processing unit 110 acquires the first specific information from the storage medium by the first specific information acquisition unit 111. Then, the dongle generation processing unit 110 further encrypts the license information encrypted in step S801 with the first unique information encryption unit 112 using the first unique information (step S802). In the present embodiment, the encrypted license information generated in step S802 is referred to as first encrypted license information. That is, the first encrypted license information of the present embodiment is information obtained by further encrypting the license information encrypted with the common key and the first unique information.

  Subsequently, the dongle generation processing unit 110 uses the writing unit 114 to write the first encrypted license information encrypted in step S802 to the storage medium (step S803).

  In the present embodiment, the storage medium connected to the information processing apparatus 100 becomes the dongle 200 by this processing.

  In FIG. 8, the first unique information is acquired in step S802, but the present invention is not limited to this. The timing for acquiring the first unique information may be, for example, when the storage medium is connected to the information processing apparatus 100 or when the processing of the dongle generation processing unit 110 is started.

  Below, with reference to FIG. 9, the process of the dongle production | generation process part 110 is further demonstrated. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining processing of the dongle generation processing unit.

  The state (a) in FIG. 9 is a state before the storage medium to be the dongle 200 is connected to the information processing apparatus 100.

  In the state (a), the storage medium holds only the first unique information, and the information processing apparatus 100 holds the unencrypted license information and the common key shared with the image forming apparatus 300. ing.

  In the state (a), when the common key encryption unit 113 of the dongle generation processing unit 110 encrypts the license information using the common key with the image forming apparatus 300, the state (b) is obtained.

  In the state (b), the first unique information acquisition unit 111 of the dongle generation processing unit 110 acquires the first unique information from the storage medium that becomes the dongle 200. When the first unique information encryption unit 112 of the dongle generation processing unit 110 further encrypts the license information encrypted with the common key using the first unique information, the license information becomes the first encrypted license information. , State (c).

  In the state (c), the dongle generation processing unit 110 writes the first encrypted license information encrypted with the two keys of the common key and the first unique information to the storage medium, so that the state (d) is obtained. The generation of the dongle 200 is completed.

  Next, processing of the management processing unit 310 of the image forming apparatus 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a first flowchart illustrating the processing of the management processing unit of the image forming apparatus.

  The process shown in FIG. 10 shows a process when the image forming apparatus 300 is started for the first time. The initial activation is, for example, a case where the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the first time from a factory shipment state. The process illustrated in FIG. 10 is a process that is executed, for example, from when the image forming apparatus 300 is turned on until the image forming apparatus 300 becomes usable.

  When the dongle 200 is connected, the management processing unit 310 of the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment acquires the first encrypted license information from the dongle 200 by the data acquisition unit 320. In addition, the management processing unit 310 acquires the first specific information from the dongle 200 by the first specific information acquisition unit 312. Then, the management processing unit 310 uses the first unique information decryption unit 314 to decrypt the first encrypted license information with the first unique information (step S1001). Here, the license information is information in a state encrypted with one common key. Further, the management processing unit 310 stores the first unique information acquired here as the value of the item “first unique information” of the management data 330.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 uses the common key decryption unit 315 to decrypt the information decrypted in step S1001 with the common key (step S1002). Here, the first encrypted license information is decrypted with both the first unique information and the common key, and becomes license information before encryption. The license information before encryption is, for example, license information “function A” included in the dongle generation data 116 of the information processing apparatus 100.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 uses the license information setting unit 319 to set the license information acquired in step S1002 in the image forming apparatus 300 (step S1003). In the present embodiment, by setting the license information “function A” in the image forming apparatus 300, the function A of the image forming apparatus 300 can be used. The license information only needs to be associated with a function that can be used in the image forming apparatus 300. For example, if the administrator of the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300 associates the license information “1” with the function A in advance, the license information is “1”.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 activates the image forming apparatus 300 based on the set license information by the activation unit 326 (step S1004). That is, the activation unit 326 is activated in a state where the function A can be used.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 acquires the second specific information from the management data 330 by the second specific information acquisition unit 313, and encrypts the license information by the second specific information by the second specific information encryption unit 324. (Step S1005).

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 acquires a common key from the management data 330, and the common key encryption unit 323 encrypts the information encrypted in step S1005 with the common key (step S1006). That is, the license information becomes information encrypted with the second unique information and the common key in step S1006.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 acquires the first unique information from the management data 330, and the first unique information encryption unit 322 encrypts the information encrypted in Step S1006 with the first unique information (Step S1006). S1007). That is, the license information becomes second encrypted license information obtained by further encrypting the license information encrypted with the second unique information and the common key in step S1007 with the first unique information. At this time, the image forming apparatus 300 and the dongle 200 are associated with each other in the second encryption license information.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 writes the second encrypted license information generated in step S1007 to the dongle 200 by the writing unit 325 (step S1008). That is, in the dongle 200, the second encrypted license information obtained by encrypting the license information with the second unique information, the common key, and the first unique information is written.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 11, the processing of the management processing unit 310 when the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the first time will be further described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating processing of the management processing unit when the image forming apparatus is first activated.

  In the state (a) shown in FIG. 11, the dongle 200 stores the first encrypted license information encrypted with the two keys of the common key and the first unique information, and the first unique information. Yes (see FIGS. 8 and 9). In the state (a), the image forming apparatus 300 stores the second unique information and the common key.

  In the state (a), the image forming apparatus 300 acquires the first encrypted license information and the first unique information from the dongle 200, and decrypts the first encrypted license information using the first unique information. Further, the image forming apparatus 300 further acquires the unencrypted license information by further decrypting the information decrypted with the common key.

  The state (b) is a state in which unencrypted license information is set in the image forming apparatus 300.

  In the state (b), the image forming apparatus 300 encrypts the unencrypted license information with the second unique information, and further encrypts the encrypted information with the common key. The image forming apparatus 300 further encrypts the encrypted information with the first unique information acquired from the dongle 200, thereby generating second encrypted license information encrypted with the three keys. The state where the second encrypted license information is generated is the state (c).

  In the state (c), the image forming apparatus 300 writes the generated second encrypted license information in the dongle 200 and deletes the second encrypted license information from the image forming apparatus 300, thereby entering the state (d). Then, the processing at the first activation of the image forming apparatus 300 is completed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, after the processing at the first activation is completed, the license information includes the first unique information that is unique information of the dongle 200, a common key between the information processing apparatus 100 and the image forming apparatus 300, and image formation. Encryption is performed using second unique information that is unique information of the device 300.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 300 can be activated only by a combination of the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 that were connected at the first activation.

  Therefore, for example, even if the dongle 200 connected to the image forming apparatus 300 is illegally copied when the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the first time, the illegally copied dongle does not have the unique information of the dongle 200. The image forming apparatus 300 cannot be activated. In addition, even if another image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus 300 is activated using the dongle 200, the other image forming apparatus does not have the unique information of the image forming apparatus 300. The device cannot be activated.

  Even if the dongle 200 tries to start another image forming apparatus with a dongle illegally copied before the image forming apparatus 300 is started for the first time, the other image forming apparatus does not use the first encryption license. Since it does not have a common key for decrypting information, it cannot be activated.

  Thus, in this embodiment, once the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are connected, the license information is encrypted with the unique information of the dongle 200 and the unique information of the image forming apparatus 300. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the one-to-one correspondence between the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 can be performed, and the security in managing license information can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, analysis of encrypted license information is suppressed by protecting the encryption method using a common key.

  Next, processing of the management processing unit 310 when the image forming apparatus 300 is started for the second time or later will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a second flowchart illustrating the processing of the management processing unit of the image forming apparatus.

  The management processing unit 310 according to the present embodiment acquires the second encrypted license information from the dongle 200 by the data acquisition unit 320 and uses the first specific information acquired by the first specific information acquisition unit 312 to generate the second encryption license information. The license information is decrypted (step S1201). The dongle 200 stores the second encrypted license information when the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the first time.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 uses the common key decryption unit 315 to decrypt the information decrypted in step S1201 using the common key (step S1202). Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 acquires the second specific information by the second specific information acquisition unit 313, and further decodes the information decoded in step S1202 by the second specific information decoding unit 316 (step S1203). . In this embodiment, the second encrypted license information is decrypted into unencrypted license information at this time.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 determines whether or not the license information acquired in step S1203 matches the license information set in the image forming apparatus 300 (step S1204). Note that the license information stored in the dongle 200 is set in the image forming apparatus 300 for the first activation.

  If they match in step S1204, the management processing unit 310 causes the activation unit 326 to activate the image forming apparatus 300 based on the set license information (step S1205). Specifically, the activation unit 326 sets the image forming apparatus 300 in a state where the function indicated by the license information can be used.

  If they do not match in step S1204, the management processing unit 310 causes the error information notification unit 321 to display an error indicating that the license information does not match on the operation display device 41 of the image forming apparatus 300. Then, the management processing unit 310 causes the activation unit 326 to activate the image forming apparatus 300 in an error mode state in which printing is not possible (step S1206).

  Next, with reference to FIG. 13, the activation of the image forming apparatus 300 including the first activation and the second and subsequent activations of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the activation process of the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus 300 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the dongle detection unit 311 of the management processing unit 310 determines whether the dongle 200 is connected (step S1301). In step S1301, if the dongle 200 is not connected, the management processing unit 310 causes the error information notification unit 321 to display an error indicating that the dongle 200 is not connected on the operation display device 41, and the start unit 326. Then, the image forming apparatus 300 is activated in an error mode state in which printing is not possible (step S1302), and the process ends.

  In step S <b> 1301, when the dongle 200 is connected, the management processing unit 310 acquires the first unique information from the dongle 200 by the first unique information acquisition unit 312. Then, the management processing unit 310 uses the first unique information decryption unit 314 to decrypt the encrypted license information acquired from the dongle 200 with the first unique information (step S1303). Here, it is not known whether the encryption license information acquired from the dongle 200 is the first encryption license information or the second encryption license information.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 further decrypts the information decrypted in step S1303 by the common key decryption unit 315 using the common key (step S1304).

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 determines whether the information decrypted in step S1304 indicates license information by the license information determination unit 317 (step S1305).

  When license information is indicated in step S1305, the management processing unit 310 determines whether the license information has already been set in the image forming apparatus 300 by the setting presence / absence determination unit 327 (step S1306).

  The case where the license information is indicated in step S1305 is a case where the encrypted license information stored in the dongle 200 becomes license information by decrypting the first unique information and the common key. The encryption license information stored in the dongle 200 at this time is the first encryption license information, and the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are never connected. That is, the first encryption license information does not associate the dongle 200 with the image forming apparatus 300.

  Also, the license information is shown in step S1305 and the license information is set in step S1306. The case where the dongle 200 used for setting the license information of the image forming apparatus 300 is damaged for some reason. Is shown.

  In this case, the management processing unit 310 determines whether the license information acquired in step S1305 matches the license information set in the image forming apparatus 300 by the license information comparison unit 318 (step S1307). If they do not match in step S 1307, the management processing unit 310 causes the activation unit 326 to display an error indicating that the license information does not match on the operation display device 41 of the image forming apparatus 300. Then, the management processing unit 310 causes the error information notification unit 321 to activate the image forming apparatus 300 in an error mode state in which printing is not possible (step S1308), and ends the processing.

  If the license information matches in step S1307, the management processing unit 310 activates the image forming apparatus 300 based on the set license information (step S1309).

  The processing from step S1309 to step S1313 is the same as the processing from step S1004 to step S1008 in the processing at the first activation described with reference to FIG.

  The case where the license information is shown in step S1305 and the license information is not set in step S1306 is a case where the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the first time using the dongle 200. This is a case where the apparatus 300 is connected.

  In other words, the processing from step S1314 to step S1319 when the license information is not set in step S1306 is a part of the processing at the first activation of the image forming apparatus 300, and from step S1003 to step S1008 in FIG. Since this is the same as the above processing, the description thereof is omitted.

  When license information is not indicated in step S1305, the management processing unit 310 uses the second specific information decoding unit 316 to decode the information decoded in step S1304 with the second specific information (step S1320).

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 determines whether the information decrypted in step S1320 indicates license information by the license information determination unit 317 (step S1321).

  The case where the license information is indicated in step S1321 is a case where the encrypted license information stored in the dongle 200 becomes license information by decrypting the first unique information, the common key, and the second unique information. That is, the encryption license information stored in the dongle 200 at this time is the second encryption license information, and the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the second time or later. At this time, the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are in a one-to-one correspondence with the second encryption license information.

  The management processing unit 310 determines whether or not the license information is set in the image forming apparatus 300 by the setting presence / absence determination unit 327 (step S1322).

  If the license information is not set in step S1322, the management processing unit 310 sets the license information decrypted in step S1320 in the image forming apparatus 300 by the license information setting unit 319 (step S1323).

  The case where the image forming apparatus 300 is activated for the second time or later and the license information is not set is, for example, when the memory storing the license information in the image forming apparatus 300 is damaged for some reason. is there.

  Subsequently, the management processing unit 310 causes the activation unit 326 to activate the image forming apparatus 300 based on the set license information (step S1324), and ends the processing.

  If the license information is set in step S1322, the processing after step S1325 is a part of the second and subsequent activation processing of the image forming apparatus 300 described in FIG. The processing from step S1325 to step S1327 is the same as the processing from step S1204 to step S1206 in FIG.

  In step S1321, if the license information is not indicated, the management processing unit 310 causes the error information notification unit 321 to display an error indicating that it is an illegal dongle on the operation display device 41, and the activation unit 326 performs image formation. The apparatus 300 is activated in an error mode state in which printing is not possible (step S1328), and the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the connection of the dongle 200 is detected, the image forming apparatus 300 decrypts the encrypted license information in the dongle 200 using the first unique information and the common key. When the result is license information, the image forming apparatus 300 generates second encrypted license information obtained by encrypting the license information with the first unique information, the common key, and the second unique information, and the dongle Write to 200.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the dongle 200 is connected to the image forming apparatus 300, each of the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 is encrypted with the first unique information, the common key, and the second unique information. The second encrypted license information thus stored is stored. In the present embodiment, the dongle 200 and the image forming apparatus 300 are associated with each other in a one-to-one relationship, and the image forming apparatus 300 cannot be activated by a dongle other than the dongle 200. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, security in management of license information can be improved.

  Note that the order of encryption and decryption in this embodiment is not limited to the order described above. The order of encryption and decryption in the present embodiment may be performed in any order as long as they correspond to each other during encryption and decryption.

  As mentioned above, although this invention has been demonstrated based on each embodiment, this invention is not limited to the requirements shown in the said embodiment. With respect to these points, the gist of the present invention can be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information processing apparatus 110 Dongle production | generation process part 111,312 First specific information acquisition part 112,322 First unique information encryption part 113,323 Common key encryption part 114,325 Writing part 115 Dongle production | generation data storage part 116 Dongle Data for generation 200 Dongle 300 Image forming apparatus 310 Management processing unit 311 Dongle detection unit 313 Second unique information acquisition unit 314 First unique information decryption unit 315 Common key decryption unit 316 Second unique information decryption unit 326 Activation unit 328 Management data storage unit 330 Management data

JP 2006-277527 A

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus that operates according to license information that enables a predetermined function,
A data acquisition unit that detects connection of a storage medium and acquires, from the storage medium, first unique information that uniquely identifies the storage medium, and first encrypted license information obtained by encrypting the license information; ,
A determination unit that decrypts the first encryption license information and determines whether the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are associated with each other;
When the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are not associated with each other, the decrypted license information is used using the first specific information and the second specific information that uniquely identifies the information processing apparatus. A writing unit for writing to the storage medium as the second encrypted license information encrypted by
A license information setting unit that associates the license information decrypted by the common key decryption unit with a function that can be used in the information processing device when the information processing device and the storage medium are not associated;
A second unique information encryption unit that encrypts the license information decrypted by the common key decryption unit using the second unique information;
A common key encryption unit that encrypts the information encrypted by the second unique information encryption unit using a common key;
A first unique information encryption unit that encrypts information encrypted by the common key encryption unit using the first unique information;
The writing unit
An information processing apparatus that writes information encrypted by the first unique information encryption unit to the storage medium as second encrypted license information . A first unique information decryption unit for decrypting the first encrypted license information with the first unique information ;
The common key decryption unit
Information decrypted by the first unique information decryption unit using a common key shared by the information processing apparatus and the other information processing apparatus that stores the first encrypted license information in the storage medium decrypt the,
The determination unit
When the information decrypted by the common key decryption unit indicates the license information, the storage medium and the information processing apparatus are associated with each other by the first unique information and the second unique information. It is determined that
When the information decrypted by the common key decryption unit does not indicate the license information, the storage medium and the information processing apparatus are associated by the first unique information and the second unique information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus determines that it has been performed. Second unique information for decrypting information decrypted by the common key decryption unit with the second unique information when the information decrypted by the common key decryption unit does not indicate the license information The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a decoding unit. A license information comparison unit that determines whether or not the license information decrypted by the second unique information decryption unit matches the license information associated with the function that can be used by the license information setting unit When,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising: an activation unit that enables the predetermined function in the information processing apparatus when the license information matches. The other information processing apparatus
A first unique information acquisition unit that acquires the first unique information from the storage medium when the storage medium is connected;
A first encryption unit that encrypts the license information given in advance with the common key;
A second encryption unit that encrypts the information encrypted by the first encryption unit with the first unique information;
The information processing apparatus
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4 , wherein the information encrypted by the second encryption unit is written in the storage medium as first encrypted license information. A program executed by an information processing apparatus that operates according to license information that enables a predetermined function, and the information processing apparatus includes:
Processing for detecting connection of a storage medium, and obtaining from the storage medium first specific information for uniquely identifying the storage medium, and first encrypted license information obtained by encrypting the license information;
Processing for decrypting the first encrypted license information and determining whether the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are associated with each other;
When the information processing apparatus and the storage medium are not associated with each other, the decrypted license information is used using the first specific information and the second specific information that uniquely identifies the information processing apparatus. Processing to write to the storage medium as the second encrypted license information encrypted by,
A license information setting process for associating the license information decrypted by the common key decryption process with a function that can be used in the information processing apparatus when the information processing apparatus is not associated with the storage medium;
A second unique information encryption process for encrypting the license information decrypted by the common key decryption process using the second unique information;
A common key encryption process for encrypting the information encrypted by the second unique information encryption process using a common key;
Performing a first unique information encryption process for encrypting the information encrypted by the common key encryption process using the first unique information,
The writing process includes
A program for writing information encrypted by the first unique information encryption process to the storage medium as second encrypted license information .

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