Abstract: A data protection system includes terminals, and an encryption device that encrypts distribution data distributed to each terminal. Each terminal corresponds with one node on a lowest level of a tree structure having hierarchies. A data protection system excludes nodes on the lowest level, determines a plurality of combination patterns that include combinations of two or more of all four nodes that are reached one level below the node, decides an individual decryption key for each determined combination pattern, and decides an individual decryption key for each node on the lowest level. The data protection system prescribes nodes that are reached from the node on the lowest level and a terminal to the node on the highest level that is an invalid node.

Abstract: A smart meter includes: a power supply control unit which causes stoppage of a supply of power passing through the smart meter to an television and so on, when an RD command to stop the supply is received; a first communication unit which performs a first communication through which the RD command is received; a second communication unit which performs a second communication; and a communication control unit which: causes the performance of the first communication before the RD command is received; and prohibit the performance of the first communication and cause only the performance of the second communication, after the RD command is received.

Abstract: To provide an advertisement distribution method of determining a distribution destination of an advertisement of a product that has a low direct relevance to execution pieces of information collected from home appliances. The advertisement distribution method includes: a collecting step of collecting, from each of one or more of home appliances owned by each of users, one or more pieces of execution information each indicating a function that has been executed by the home appliance; a detecting step of, with respect to each user, detecting an unused function that has not been used in each home appliance by analyzing the collected pieces of execution information and functions of the home appliance; and a transmitting step of extracting a user who is expected to purchase a product based on a detection result, and transmitting an advertisement to one or more of the home appliances owned by the extracted user.

Abstract: This data providing method is carried out by a computer (460) built in a data processing system (1) which is designed to collect log information from electronic devices through a network (30) and provide services based on that log information for authenticated users. The method includes: receiving a fridge's (100a, 100b) log information through the network; generating display data, representing a trend of change of a recovery time that indicates how long it takes for the fridge's inside temperature to recover a preset operating temperature since the fridge's door was closed, by reference to pieces of information which are included in the fridge's log information and which indicate (i) the preset operating temperature inside the fridge, (ii) the temperature of the ambient surrounding the fridge, (iii) a temperature inside the fridge, and (iv) opening and closing history of the fridge; and providing the display data for an authenticated user's display terminal (130a, 130b).

Abstract: A distributing device for generating private information correctly even if shared information is destroyed or tampered with. A shared information distributing device for use in a system for managing private information by a secret sharing method, including: segmenting unit that segments private information into a first through an nth pieces of shared information; first distribution unit that distributes the n pieces of shared information to n holding devices on a one-to-one basis; and second distribution unit that distributes the n pieces of shared information to the n holding devices so that each holding device holds an ith piece of shared information distributed by the first distribution unit, as well as a pieces of shared information being different from the ith piece of shared information in ordinal position among n pieces of shared information, “i” being an integer in a range from 1 to n.

Abstract: A verification method pertaining to the present invention is executed by a terminal device and is used for determining the validity of a control program used for remotely controlling an appliance via a server. Verification data generated from: a unique identifier which is assigned to a user of the terminal device; a parameter which is generated by the server device and is assigned to the control program; and partial data which is at least a portion of the control program, is compared with comparison data generated from: the ID of the user stored in the server device; the parameter; and a portion of a program corresponding to the partial data of the control program. When a mismatch occurs, the remote control of the appliance will be prohibited.

Abstract: A measurement device includes: a first measurement unit (101) measuring first biological data at least k times (k?2) to obtain any k first measurement values; a distributed-signature generation unit (104) executing signature operations for the k first measurement values using any various k distributed-signature keys, respectively, to generate k distributed signatures, where the k distributed-signature keys can reconstruct a signature generation key only when all of them are available; a signature synthesis unit (106) synthesizing the k distributed signatures together to reconstruct a signature; and a steady state verification unit (107) verifying, using a signature verification key corresponding to the signature generation key, whether or not the signature reconstructed by the signature synthesis unit is correct, where the correctness of the signature means that the k first measurement values are same values.

Abstract: A distributing device for generating private information correctly even if shared information is destroyed or tampered with. A shared information distributing device for use in a system for managing private information by a secret sharing method, including: segmenting unit that segments private information into a first through an nth pieces of shared information; first distribution unit that distributes the n pieces of shared information to n holding devices on a one-to-one basis; and second distribution unit that distributes the n pieces of shared information to the n holding devices so that each holding device holds an ith piece of shared information distributed by the first distribution unit, as well as a pieces of shared information being different from the ith piece of shared information in ordinal position among n pieces of shared information, “i” being an integer in a range from 1 to n.

Abstract: A method used in a remote control system for remotely controlling an appliance by execution of a remote control command contained in a control program stored in an operation terminal device, by which: a first identifier is acquired at a first time point (S801), the first identifier being unique to a portable medium located close to an operation terminal device serving as a remote controller for the appliance; the first identifier is embedded into the control program (S802); a second identifier is acquired at a second time point later than the first time point (S803), the second identifier being unique to a portable medium located close to the operation terminal device serving as the remote controller for the appliance; whether the first identifier matches the second identifier is determined (S804); and remote control of the appliance is prohibited when the first identifier does not match the second identifier (S805).

Abstract: A first user among a plurality of users is associated with a second user having an evaluation tendency similar to evaluation data of the first user for management. Further, a third user is selected by a terminal device of the first user as a user having preference information that suits preference of the first user. The third user is associated with the first user and the second user for management. This configuration makes it possible to select not only a user automatically selected by a system but also another user whom a targeted user is interested in as a similar user, allowing provision of information that better suits hobby and preference of the targeted user.

Abstract: A measurement device measures vital data, encrypts the vital data using an encryption key to generate encrypted vital data, and generates, from a decryption key of the vital data, two pairs of a first share FSD and a second share SSD which enable reproduction of the decryption key. The measurement device generates an encrypted second share by encrypting the second share SSD. The measurement device transmits the encrypted vital data, the first share FSD, and the encrypted second share to a server device via an intermediate device.

Abstract: An intermediation method used in an intermediation system that includes an intermediation device determining a permission for application services requiring user authentication on a network, where in response to a user request, a first account used for a first service and a second account used for a second service, and a registration request for using the linking service linking the first application service and the second application service are associated with each other, when the two accounts are valid, as accounts usable in a linking service, an association between the first and second services is stored in the intermediation device, and when the user makes a request to use the linked services, that use is controlled by a query to the intermediation device regarding whether the account is associated as able to use the linking service.

Abstract: An authentication system, including a service use device 1 which presents blurred information obtained by blurring certification information desired to be certified, service providing devices 3a to 3c which verify the validity of blurred information presented by the service use device 1, and an authentication device 2 which supports the service use device 1 to issue valid blurred information. The authentication device 2 adds a digital signature to information including certification information and blurred information, and generates authentication information including the obtained digital signature, certification information, and blurred information (S2). The service use device 1 generates, based on the authentication information generated in the authentication device 2, blurred authentication information including blurred information selected according to an instruction from a user, instruction information representing the instruction, and a digital signature (S4).

Abstract: A data processing method for processing usage history data of at least one electrical device used by a user, including: obtaining first usage history data indicating a usage history of at least one electrical device used by the user; obtaining second usage history data indicating a fixed dummy usage history; generating third usage history data by combining the first usage history data and the second usage history data; and transmitting the third usage history data from a first apparatus to a second apparatus.

Abstract: A management apparatus which collects, from a home appliance, home appliance information which is information related to the home appliance and provides a user with to-be-provided information which is information obtained from the collected home appliance information, includes: a managing unit which manages the home appliance information; and a home appliance information holding unit which holds, in association with each other, (i) the home appliance information and (ii) share information which is for sharing the home appliance information and is associated with the user. The managing unit refers to data held by the home appliance information holding unit when a request for to-be-provided information is issued by the user, obtains the home appliance information held in association with share information identical to the share information associated with the user, and provides the user with to-be-provided information obtained from the obtained information.

Abstract: Provided is a tampering monitoring system that can identify a monitoring module that has been tampered with among a plurality of monitoring modules. A management apparatus is provided with an acquisition unit that acquires a new monitoring module that has not been tampered with, a generation unit that generates a decoy monitoring module by modifying the acquired monitoring module, a transmission unit that transmits the decoy monitoring module to the information security device and causes the information security device to install the decoy monitoring module therein, a reception unit that receives from the information security device, after the decoy monitoring module has been installed, monitoring results generated by the monitoring modules monitoring other monitoring modules, and a determination unit that identifies, by referring to the received monitoring results, a monitoring module that determines the decoy monitoring module to be valid and determines the identified monitoring module to be invalid.

Abstract: A verification method pertaining to the present invention is executed by a terminal device and is used for determining the validity of a control program used for remotely controlling an appliance via a server. Verification data generated from: a unique identifier which is assigned to a user of the terminal device; a parameter which is generated by the server device and is assigned to the control program; and partial data which is at least a portion of the control program, is compared with comparison data generated from: the ID of the user stored in the server device; the parameter; and a portion of a program corresponding to the partial data of the control program. When a mismatch occurs, the remote control of the appliance will be prohibited.

Abstract: Tampering monitoring system can detect whether protection control module is tampered with even if some of detection modules are tampered with. Tampering monitoring system includes protection control module detection modules, and management device. Protection control module includes: generation unit generating d pieces of distribution data from computer program, n and d being positive integers, d smaller than n; selection unit selecting d detection modules; and distribution unit distributing d pieces of distribution data to d detection modules. Each detection module judges whether received piece of distribution data is authentic to detect whether protection control module is tampered with, and transmits judgment result indicating whether protection control module is tampered with. Management device receives judgment results from d detection modules and manages protection control module with regard to tampering by using received judgment results.

Abstract: To aim to provide a monitoring system and a program execution apparatus that are capable of maintaining the security intensity even in the case where an unauthentic install module is invalidated. Install modules included in an apparatus each monitor an install module, which is a monitoring target indicated by a monitoring pattern included therein, as to whether the install module performs malicious operations. An install module that performs malicious operations is invalidated in accordance with an instruction from an update server. The monitoring patterns are restructured by the update server such that the install modules except the invalidated install module are each monitored by at least another one of the install modules. The restructured monitoring patterns are distributed to the install modules except the invalidated install module.

Abstract: A management device detects whether any normal monitoring module that has not been tampered with exists by referring to monitoring results received from an information security device and selects, when existence is detected, one of the monitoring modules and assumes that the selected monitoring module has been tampered with. The monitoring device then successively applies a procedure to monitoring modules other than the selected monitoring module by referring to the monitoring results, starting from the selected monitoring module, the procedure being to assume that any monitoring module determining that a monitoring module assumed to have been tampered with is normal has also been tampered with. As a result of the procedure, when all of the monitoring modules are assumed to have been tampered with the management device determines the selected monitoring module to be a normal monitoring module that has not been tampered with.