JP7709018B2 - Authentication system and authentication method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an authentication system and authentication method, and in particular to an authentication system and authentication method for authenticating a user who wishes to use a service related to a device.

Generally, a technology called authentication is used to verify that the user accessing the service is the real user, as a means of allowing only authorized users to use cloud services provided by servers on the Internet. In many cases, authentication is performed using account information consisting of a combination of an ID and a password. In addition to IDs and passwords, IC cards and biometric information (biometric information such as fingerprints and retina) may also be used.

Conventionally, in order to ensure security and improve usability, a technology is known that authenticates a user by a first authentication process for authenticating the user and a second authentication process for authenticating the user more securely than the first authentication process (for example, Patent Document 1). In the device described in Patent Document 1, if the authority of the user authenticated in the first authentication process is a predetermined authority, the predetermined authority is granted to the user authenticated in the first authentication process. On the other hand, if the authority of the user authenticated in the first authentication process is not the predetermined authority, the user is further authenticated in the second authentication process, and if the authentication in the second authentication process is successful, the authority is granted.

In a system that provides users with cloud services related to devices, when granting authority to a specific user to use the service, it is necessary to register the target device with the specific user's account information. In this case, device-specific information such as a serial number is used to register the device. However, if the serial number or other information is stolen due to improper management or an attack, there is a risk that a third party who does not possess the device may be able to carry out fraudulent acts such as impersonation.

Patent No. 6184194

The present invention was made to solve such problems, and aims to ensure security in a system that provides device-related services to users by making it possible to grant usage rights only to legitimate users who own the device.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention performs authentication by acquiring the user's account information and device information specific to the device, instructing the user to operate the device, and judging whether the operation was performed as instructed based on status information indicating the state of the device. If this authentication is successful, the account information and device information are associated and registered, thereby granting the user corresponding to the account information the right to use services related to the device corresponding to the device information.

According to the present invention configured as described above, authentication is successful only if the device corresponding to the acquired device information is actually in the possession of the user corresponding to the acquired account information and is able to perform the operations instructed. Therefore, in a system that provides device-related services to users, usage rights can be granted only to legitimate users who own the device, ensuring security.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an authentication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a user terminal according to the present embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for account information displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen for device information displayed on a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation instruction screen displayed on a user terminal. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server device according to the present embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an authentication system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the authentication system of this embodiment is configured to include a user terminal 100, a printer 200, which is an example of a device, and a server device 300. The user terminal 100 and the server device 300, and the printer 200 and the server device 300 are connected via a communication network 500 such as the Internet or a mobile phone network. The user terminal 100 and the printer 200 are connected via a wired cable or wireless communication means.

The authentication system of this embodiment is a system that authenticates a user who wishes to use a cloud service related to a device (printer 200). The content of the cloud service related to the printer 200 is arbitrary. For example, the cloud service can be a service in which the server device 300 monitors the status of the printer 200 and notifies the user terminal 100 of the detected status of the printer 200. When a user starts using this cloud service, he or she is authenticated by the authentication system of this embodiment, and if the authentication is successful, the user is able to use the service.

The user terminal 100 is, for example, a smartphone, tablet, notebook computer, or desktop computer. An application having a function for executing printing using the printer 200 is installed on the user terminal 100, and it is possible to issue print instructions to the printer 200 through the application. The user terminal 100 also has a web browser function, and it is possible to communicate with the server device 300 using the web browser function or application function and use cloud services.

The printer 200 executes printing according to instructions from the user terminal 100. The printer 200 also detects various conditions (described in detail below) and transmits status information indicating the conditions to the server device 300. The server device 300 uses the status information transmitted from the printer 200 to provide the above-mentioned cloud service to the user terminal 100, and also performs authentication processing to determine whether a user who wishes to use the cloud service is a legitimate user.

Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which provision of cloud services and authentication processing are performed by the same server device 300, this is not limiting. For example, a server device (not shown) that provides cloud services may exist separately from the server device 300 that performs authentication processing.

Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration assuming that a cloud service is used on a user terminal 100 that prints using the printer 200, this is not limiting. For example, a terminal (not shown) that prints using the printer 200 may exist separately from the user terminal 100 that uses the cloud service. As a specific example, a POS terminal and the printer 200 may be connected, and printing may be performed from the POS terminal to the printer 200 while the cloud service is used on the user terminal 100.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 100. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the printer 200. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 300. Figures 2 to 4 mainly show the main components related to the authentication process of this embodiment, and the contents of this authentication process will be described in detail below. The process related to the provision and use of cloud services is not the subject of this invention, so it will only be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment has, as its functional configuration, an account information input unit 11, a device information input unit 12, an input information transmission unit 13, an operation instruction reception unit 14, and an instruction content display unit 15. Each of these functional blocks 11 to 15 can be configured with either hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or software. For example, when configured with software, each of the above functional blocks 11 to 15 is actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as the RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

The account information input unit 11 inputs the user's account information in accordance with the user's operation on the user terminal 100. The account information is a user ID and a password. The user ID may be any information that can uniquely identify an individual user. For example, the user's email address may be used as the user ID. The password may be any information that the user has set.

The device information input unit 12 inputs device information specific to the device (printer 200) in accordance with user operations on the user terminal 100. The device information may be any information that can uniquely identify each individual printer 200. For example, the serial number of the printer 200 can be used as the device information.

The input information sending unit 13 sends the account information input by the account information input unit 11 and the device information input by the device information input unit 12 to the server device 300 via the communication network 500. When the input information sending unit 13 sends the account information to the server device 300, the server device 300 authenticates the user based on the account information, as described below. If the authentication is successful, the server device 300 notifies the user terminal 100 of this, and the device information becomes available for input. The input information sending unit 13 then sends the input device information to the server device 300.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of an account information input screen displayed on the user terminal 100. As shown in Figure 5, the user inputs account information by inputting a user ID in the ID input field 51 and a password in the password input field 52, and then transmits the account information to the server device 300 by pressing the send button 53. That is, the account information input unit 11 inputs the account information according to the user's input operations in the ID input field 51 and the password input field 52, and the input information transmitting unit 13 transmits the input account information to the server device 300 in response to pressing the send button 53.

Note that while FIG. 5 shows an example of input when the user already has account information, it is also possible to create and input new account information. In this case, for example, an email address is input as the user ID and sent to the server device 300, and then the authentication code sent to that email address as a response is input and sent to the server device 300 to confirm the validity of the email address. After that, an arbitrary password is input and sent to the server device 300, thereby newly registering account information consisting of a combination of the user ID and password with the server device 300.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a device information input screen displayed on the user terminal 100. This device information input screen is made available for display when user authentication based on account information is successful, or when new registration of account information is completed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the user activates the camera provided in the user terminal 100 and transmits device information to the server device 300 by reading the serial number barcode printed on the product label attached to the housing of the printer 200. That is, the device information input unit 12 inputs the device information in response to the user's operation of reading the barcode, and the input information transmission unit 13 transmits the input device information to the server device 300. Note that, as in FIG. 5, after manually inputting the serial number in the serial number input field, the device information may be transmitted to the server device 300 in response to pressing the transmit button.

The operation instruction receiving unit 14 receives instruction information (described in detail below) for an operation that the user should perform on the printer 200 from the server device 300 via the communication network 500. The instruction content display unit 15 displays the instruction content for an operation that the user should perform on the printer 200 on the display of the user terminal 100 based on the instruction information received by the operation instruction receiving unit 14.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation instruction screen displayed on the user terminal 100. In this Figure 7, an example is shown in which the operation instruction content to open and close the cover of the printer 200 twice is displayed using text information and video information (animation information). Note that the operation instruction content may be displayed using either text information or video information alone.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 200 has a functional configuration including a status detection unit 21, a status information generation unit 22, and a status information transmission unit 23. Each of these functional blocks 21 to 23 can be configured using hardware, a DSP, or software. For example, when configured using software, each of the functional blocks 21 to 23 is actually configured using a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as the RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

The status detection unit 21 detects the status of the printer 200. Examples of the detected status of the printer 200 include cover opening/closing, paper ejection, presence or absence of paper, remaining ink or toner, remaining battery charge, print result (print success/print failure), print setting information (paper setting, number of prints, print quality, color/black and white selection, image processing method, etc.). The status information generation unit 22 generates status information indicating the status detected by the status detection unit 21. The status information transmission unit 23 transmits the status information generated by the status information generation unit 22 to the server device 300 via the communication network 500.

The status detection unit 21 may detect the status of devices connected as expansion devices to the USB port, wireless port, etc. of the printer 200. Examples of expansion devices include a camera module, audio equipment, and an electronic locking mechanism, and the statuses to be detected include the presence or absence of changes in the image by the camera module, changes in or pickup of sounds by audio equipment, and the locking and unlocking operation by the electronic locking mechanism. It is preferable to have the server device 300 recognize the expansion devices connected to the printer 200 in advance.

The status information generating unit 22 generates status information each time the status detecting unit 21 detects a change in the status of the printer 200, or each time the status of the printer 200 meets a predetermined condition. Then, when the status information generating unit 22 generates the status information, the status information transmitting unit 23 transmits it to the server device 300.

For example, when the status detection unit 21 detects that the cover has been opened, status information indicating that the cover is open is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. Conversely, when the status detection unit 21 detects that the cover has been closed, status information indicating that the cover is closed is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. In addition, when the status detection unit 21 detects that paper has been discharged, status information indicating this is generated and transmitted to the server device 300.

In addition, when the status detection unit 21 detects that the remaining amount of paper is less than a predetermined amount or that the remaining amount of paper has reached zero, status information indicating this is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. Conversely, when the status detection unit 21 detects that paper has been replenished and the remaining amount has changed from less than a predetermined amount to equal to or greater than the predetermined amount, status information indicating this is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. The same applies to the remaining amount of ink or toner and the remaining battery level.

When the status detection unit 21 detects that the printing instructed by the user terminal 100 has been completed successfully, status information indicating successful printing is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. Conversely, when the status detection unit 21 detects that an error has occurred during printing, status information indicating unsuccessful printing is generated and transmitted to the server device 300. When the status detection unit 21 detects that the printing setting information has been changed, status information indicating the changed content is generated and transmitted to the server device 300.

The status information sent to the server device 300 is used for a cloud service that notifies the user terminal 100 of the status of the printer 200. The status information sent to the server device 300 is also used for authentication processing of a user who wishes to use the cloud service. This authentication processing is performed from the viewpoint of whether or not the user has operated the printer 200 in accordance with the instructions sent from the server device 300 to the user terminal 100.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, if an instruction is given to open and close the cover of the printer 200 twice, and the user follows this instruction to open and close the cover of the printer 200 twice, status information indicating that the cover is open and status information indicating that the cover is closed are generated alternately twice each and sent to the server device 300. As will be described later, the server device 300 performs authentication processing based on the status information sent from the printer 200 in this manner.

As shown in FIG. 4, the server device 300 has, as its functional configuration, an account information acquisition unit 31, a device information acquisition unit 32, a status information acquisition unit 33, an authentication processing unit 34, an operation instruction transmission unit 35, and an authority setting unit 36. The server device 300 also has a user management information storage unit 30 as a storage medium. Each of the above-mentioned functional blocks 31 to 36 can be configured with any of hardware, DSP, and software. For example, when configured with software, each of the above-mentioned functional blocks 31 to 36 is actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a storage medium such as RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

The account information acquisition unit 31 acquires the user's account information transmitted by the input information transmission unit 13 of the user terminal 100. The device information acquisition unit 32 acquires the device information (serial number unique to the printer 200) transmitted by the input information transmission unit 13 of the user terminal 100. The status information acquisition unit 33 acquires the status information transmitted by the status information transmission unit 23 of the printer 200.

The authentication processing unit 34 performs authentication to confirm the legitimacy of the user by comparing the account information acquired by the account information acquisition unit 31 with the account information registered in the user management information storage unit 30. If this authentication is successful, the authentication processing unit 34 notifies the user terminal 100 of that fact. Then, when the device information acquisition unit 32 acquires the device information input in the user terminal 100 in response to this, the authentication processing unit 34 instructs the user to operate the printer 200, and performs authentication by determining whether the operation has been performed as instructed based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 33.

That is, when the account information is acquired by the account information acquisition unit 31, authentication based on the account information is successful, and then the device information is acquired by the device information acquisition unit 32, the authentication processing unit 34 generates instruction information representing the operation instructions to be performed by the user on the printer 200, and transmits the instruction information to the user terminal 100 via the operation instruction transmission unit 35. This instruction information includes information necessary for displaying at least one of text information and video information indicating the operation instructions on the user terminal 100.

Then, the authentication processing unit 34 determines whether the change in the state of the printer 200 indicated by the series of status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 33 within a specified time from sending the instruction information matches the contents of the operation instruction, and if they match, it determines that the authentication is successful. On the other hand, if the status information is not acquired within the specified time from sending the instruction information, or if the change in the state of the printer 200 indicated by the series of status information acquired within the specified time does not match the contents of the operation instruction, it determines that the authentication is unsuccessful.

Here, the authentication processing unit 34 instructs, for example, operations that exist in common regardless of the model of the printer 200. For example, in a case where there are higher-end and lower-end models of the printer 200, the authentication processing unit 34 instructs operations that exist in common to both the higher-end and lower-end models, such as operations related to opening and closing the cover, operations related to ejecting paper, and operations related to changing specific print setting information. In this way, the number of types of instruction information issued from the server device 300 can be reduced.

The authentication processing unit 34 may also randomly change the operation method for operations that are common regardless of the model of printer 200. For example, for operations related to opening and closing the cover, the operation method may be changed randomly each time authentication processing is performed, such as opening and closing the cover n times (n is any value equal to or greater than 1), or opening the cover and then closing it after a predetermined time has elapsed. In this way, authentication will not be successful unless the user actually checks the instructions and operates the printer 200, thereby increasing the security level.

In addition, to increase the security level, the authentication processing unit 34 may instruct an operation specific to the device corresponding to the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 32. For example, in a case where there are higher-end and lower-end models of the printer 200, when the device corresponding to the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 32 corresponds to a higher-end model, an instruction is given according to the device type to instruct an operation that exists only in the higher-end model. For example, a function based on the device information is held and managed in advance for each model in the server device 300, and a confirmation function is executed based on that, thereby instructing an operation specific to the relevant model.

When authentication by the authentication processing unit 34 is successful, the authority setting unit 36 associates the account information acquired by the account information acquisition unit 31 with the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 32 and registers them in the user management information storage unit 30, thereby granting the user corresponding to the account information the authority to use the cloud service related to the device corresponding to the device information. After that, the user who has been granted the authority to use the cloud service of the server device 300 can use it simply by inputting the account information.

Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server device 300 according to this embodiment configured as described above. First, the account information acquisition unit 31 acquires the user's account information from the user terminal 100 (step S1). Next, the authentication processing unit 34 performs authentication to confirm the legitimacy of the user based on the acquired account information, and determines whether the authentication is successful (step S2).

If the authentication of the user based on the account information is unsuccessful, the authentication process shown in FIG. 8 is terminated. On the other hand, if the authentication of the user based on the account information is successful, this fact is notified to the user terminal 100, and device information is transmitted in response from the user terminal 100, so that the device information acquisition unit 32 acquires the device information (step S3).

When the account information and device information are acquired in this manner, the authentication processing unit 34 generates instruction information representing the instruction content of the operation that the user should perform on the printer 200, and transmits it to the user terminal 100 via the operation instruction transmission unit 35 (step S4). After that, the status information acquisition unit 33 determines whether or not status information has been acquired from the printer 200 (step S5).

If the status information acquisition unit 33 has not acquired status information, it determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the authentication processing unit 34 sent the operation instruction information (step S6), and continues to determine whether status information has been acquired from the printer 200 until the predetermined time has elapsed (step S5). Then, when the status information acquisition unit 33 acquires status information, the authentication processing unit 34 determines whether the user performed the operation as instructed based on the status information (step S7).

If it is determined that the instructed operation has been performed on the printer 200, the authentication processing unit 34 determines that the authentication has been successful (step S8). In this case, the authority setting unit 36 associates the account information acquired in step S1 with the device information acquired in step S2 and registers them in the user management information storage unit 30, thereby granting the user corresponding to the account information the authority to use the cloud service related to the device corresponding to the device information (step S9). This ends the authentication process shown in FIG. 8.

If it is determined in step S7 above that the instructed operation has not been performed on the printer 200, the authentication processing unit 34 determines that the authentication has been unsuccessful (step S10). Also, if it is determined in step S6 above that a predetermined time has elapsed without the status information acquisition unit 33 acquiring status information from the printer 200, the authentication processing unit 34 also determines that the authentication has been unsuccessful (step S10). In this case, the authentication processing shown in FIG. 8 ends without performing the processing in step S9.

As described above in detail, in this embodiment, the server device 300 acquires the user's account information and the device information specific to the printer 200, and then instructs the user to operate the printer 200. Authentication is performed by determining whether the operation has been performed as instructed based on the status information of the printer 200. If authentication is successful, the account information and the device information are associated and registered, so that the user corresponding to the account information is granted the right to use services related to the device corresponding to the device information.

According to this embodiment configured as described above, authentication is successful only if the printer 200 corresponding to the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 32 is actually in the possession of the user corresponding to the account information acquired by the account information acquisition unit 31 and the user is able to perform the operation as instructed, so that in a system that provides users with cloud services related to the printer 200, only legitimate users who own the printer 200 can be given usage rights, ensuring security. Also, in this embodiment, authentication is performed with a limit set on the time from when the server device 300 instructs the user terminal 100 to operate the printer 200 until the status information is received, which can enhance security.

In the above embodiment, a configuration using the printer 200 as an example of a device has been described, but the device is not limited to the printer 200. For example, a cash drawer, a customer display, a scanner, a scale, a card reader/writer, a payment device, etc. may be used. When a cash drawer is used, it is possible to instruct operations such as opening and closing a drawer in which money is stored, and opening and closing the locking mechanism of the drawer. When a customer display is used, it is possible to instruct operations such as adjusting the shade and brightness of the screen, and inserting and removing a USB cable.

When a scanner is used, it is possible to instruct, for example, to read a barcode with a display expiration date displayed on the screen of the user terminal 100, or to press a trigger switch to instruct reading of a barcode. When a scale is used, it is possible to instruct, for example, to place a weight of a specified weight on it, to apply pressure from above the platform, or to press a reset button. When a card reader/writer is used, it is possible to instruct, for example, to read a card. When a payment device is used, it is possible to instruct, for example, to enter specified information or to swipe the screen.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which authentication regarding device operations is performed once when starting to use the cloud service, and then the cloud service can be used simply by inputting account information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, authentication regarding device operations may be performed each time a cloud service is used, or each time a specific function within the cloud service is used. In this case, the authority setting unit 36 can be omitted. Whether or not authentication is required each time can be determined arbitrarily depending on the content of the cloud service.

In the above embodiment, the service usage authority granted when authentication is successful may be the authority to use the cloud service, or the administrative authority to make various settings when using the cloud service. For example, the service itself that notifies the user terminal 100 of the status of the printer 200 may be available to individual users without authentication using account information or device operation, while authentication may be required when using a cloud service to make various settings related to this service (e.g., setting the type of status to be notified, setting the user terminal 100 to be notified, etc.), and administrative authority may be granted when authentication is successful.

In addition, the above embodiments are merely examples of how the present invention can be implemented, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted in a limiting manner. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its gist or main features.

31 Account information acquisition unit 32 Device information acquisition unit 33 Status information acquisition unit 34 Authentication processing unit 35 Operation instruction transmission unit 36 Authority setting unit 100 User terminal 200 Printer (device)
300 Server device

Claims (14)

An authentication system for authenticating a user who wishes to use a service related to a device, comprising:
an account information acquisition unit for acquiring account information of the user;
a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information specific to the device;
a status information acquisition unit for acquiring status information indicating a state of the device;
an authentication processing unit that instructs the user to operate the device and performs authentication by determining whether the user has performed the operation in accordance with the instruction based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit ,
The device operates in response to instructions from a POS terminal.
The operation that the authentication processing unit instructs the user to perform is an operation that is directly performed on the device, different from an operation performed from the POS terminal to instruct the device to perform an operation.
1. An authentication system comprising: An authentication system for authenticating a user who wishes to use a service related to a device, comprising:
The server device that performs the authentication includes:
an account information acquisition unit for acquiring account information of the user;
a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information specific to the device;
a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating a state of the device from the device;
an authentication processing unit that instructs the user to operate the device and performs authentication by determining whether the user has performed the operation in accordance with the instruction based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit,
The device is
A state detection unit that detects a state of the device;
a status information generating unit that generates the status information each time the status detecting unit detects a change in the status of the device or each time the status of the device detected by the status detecting unit matches a predetermined condition;
a status information transmission unit that transmits the status information generated by the status information generation unit to the server device;
1. An authentication system comprising: the service related to the device is a service that monitors the state of the device and notifies a user of the detected state;
The authentication processing unit performs authentication using the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit, and provides the service after the authentication is successful.
3. The authentication system according to claim 2. The authentication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an authority setting unit that, when authentication by the authentication processing unit is successful, grants to a user corresponding to the account information authority to use services related to a device corresponding to the device information by correlating and registering the account information acquired by the account information acquisition unit and the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit. 5. The authentication system according to claim 1, wherein the device is a printer. the service related to the device is a service that monitors the state of the device and notifies a user of the detected state;
6. The authentication system according to claim 5, wherein the operation instructed to the user by the authentication processing section is an operation for making the device in the same state as the state notified in the service. An authentication system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that there are separate terminals that instruct the device to operate and do not require authentication, and terminals that use the service and require authentication. 5. The authentication system according to claim 4, wherein the services include services for which the authority to use is granted by the authority setting unit if the authentication is successful, and services that can be used without performing the authentication. The authentication system according to claim 8, characterized in that the usage authority granted by the authority setting unit when the authentication is successful is management authority for making settings for using a service that can be used without performing the authentication. 5. The authentication system according to claim 1 , wherein the authentication processing section instructs an operation specific to a device corresponding to the device information acquired by the device information acquisition section. 5. The authentication system according to claim 1 , wherein the authentication processing unit instructs an operation according to a model of a device corresponding to the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit. 1. An authentication method for authenticating a user who wishes to use a service related to a device, comprising:
A first step in which an account information acquisition unit of a server device acquires account information of the user from a user terminal;
a second step of a device information acquisition unit of the server device acquiring device information specific to the device from the user terminal;
a third step of performing authentication by determining whether or not the operation has been performed as instructed based on status information indicating a device status acquired from the device by a status information acquisition unit of the server device after the authentication processing unit of the server device instructs the user to operate the device ,
The device operates in response to instructions from a POS terminal.
The operation that the authentication processing unit instructs the user to perform is an operation that is directly performed on the device, different from an operation performed from the POS terminal to instruct the device to perform an operation.
13. An authentication method comprising: 1. An authentication method for authenticating a user who wishes to use a service related to a device, comprising:
A first step in which an account information acquisition unit of a server device acquires account information of the user from a user terminal;
a second step of a device information acquisition unit of the server device acquiring device information specific to the device from the user terminal;
a third step of performing authentication by determining whether or not the operation has been performed as instructed based on status information indicating a device status acquired from the device by a status information acquisition unit of the server device after the authentication processing unit of the server device instructs the user to operate the device,
With regard to the processing of the status information, the device detects the state of the device, generates the status information every time a change in the state of the device is detected or every time the state of the device matches a predetermined condition, and transmits the generated status information to the server device.
13. An authentication method comprising: The authentication method according to claim 12 or 13, further comprising a fourth step in which, when authentication by the authentication processing unit is successful, the authority setting unit of the server device associates and registers the account information acquired by the account information acquisition unit and the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit, thereby granting the user corresponding to the account information the authority to use services related to the device corresponding to the device information.