Abstract: A system which allows each server in a network to verify the signature of a party issuing a service instruction in a system for providing a cooperative service by allowing servers to send and receive instruction data indicating instructions to each server and to execute the instruction written in the instruction data. An instruction input device receiving an instruction from a service requestor attaches an electronic signature (initiator signature (74)) of the requestor or the instruction input device to an instruction which indicates process content of each server, to create a signed individual instruction (72). The instruction input device further attaches an initiator signature (76) to data in which the signed individual instructions (72) for all servers involved in the service are merged, to create a collective instruction (70). The collective instruction (70) is transmitted to a flow controller controlling the servers.

Abstract: A device for facilitating verification of an electronic signature in an exchange of instructions between an in-house server and an outside server. Each server which is to execute a partial process of a cooperative service has, in a key storage unit (206), secret keys corresponding to public key certificates issued by an in-house CA and by an outside public CA. A signature key selection unit 216 judges whether a server which is to execute a process next is a device within or outside the company and selects an in-house secret key when the next server is an in-house device and an outside secret key when the next server is an outside device. A signature creation unit (218) calculates a value of an electronic signature for an job flow instruction to the next server using the selected secret key. An instruction division/integration unit (204) transmits to the next server the job flow instruction with the electronic signature value attached.

Abstract: A network facsimile transmission originating device includes a first mail generator that generates a first e-mail which includes a scanned image to be facsimiled and designates a fax number of a fax destination in a destination mail address field, an encryption unit that encrypts, using a public key of a relay device, at least a portion of the first e-mail generated by the first mail generator, a second mail generator that generates a second e-mail which includes the encrypted first e-mail and designates a mail address of the relay device in a destination mail address field, and a transmitter that transmits the second e-mail generated by the second mail generator to the relay device via a network.

Abstract: A device for facilitating verification of an electronic signature in an exchange of instructions between an in-house server and an outside server. Each server which is to execute a partial process of a cooperative service has, in a key storage unit (206), secret keys corresponding to public key certificates issued by an in-house CA and by an outside public CA. A signature key selection unit 216 judges whether a server which is to execute a process next is a device within or outside the company and selects an in-house secret key when the next server is an in-house device and an outside secret key when the next server is an outside device. A signature creation unit (218) calculates a value of an electronic signature for an job flow instruction to the next server using the selected secret key. An instruction division/integration unit (204) transmits to the next server the job flow instruction with the electronic signature value attached.

Abstract: An image reading apparatus which reads an original document and generates a digitized scanned document, and which includes a document storage section that stores the scanned document, a document bundling section that identifies one or more scanned documents stored by the document storage section, and bundles the identified documents into one document, and a time stamp affixing section that creates a digital signature of the document bundled by the document bundling section, and affixes a time stamp.

Abstract: An image processor has a job processing unit, a log creating unit and a log encrypting unit. The job processing unit applies a job process. The log creating unit creates a job log including image data representing an image to which the job process is applied. The log encrypting unit applies an encryption process to the created job log in a manner to allow decoding by a predetermined inspector and stores in a log storage unit an encrypted log obtained as a result of the encryption process.

Abstract: There is provided an image processing apparatus including a memory that stores an authentication ID type which indicates a type of a user ID which is accepted by an authentication server and an input ID type which indicates a type of a user ID which is inputted by a user, an ID reception section that receives input of a user ID which corresponds to the input ID type, an authentication ID search section that accesses a directory server which stores a plurality of types of user ID in association with each other and searches for a user ID which corresponds to the authentication ID type and is associated with the inputted user ID, and an authentication processing section that accesses the authentication server to cause the authentication server to perform user authentication using the user ID corresponding to the authentication ID type which is specified as a result of the search.

Abstract: There is provided a job processing system having an instruction creating device and an image reading device. The instruction creating device includes a section that accepts designation of a public key certificate of a user having full access rights with respect to an electronic document file, and a section that creates reading instruction data including data indicating the operation restriction and the designated public key certificate of the user having full access rights. The image reading device includes a section that detects data indicating an operation restriction and a public key certificate of a user having full access rights, and a section that sets an operation restriction, on the basis of the read data to an electronic document file representing an image obtained by reading a document and that sets, a user having full access rights, on the basis of the read data to the electronic document file representing the image.

Abstract: An Internet facsimile relay unit includes an e-mail receiving section that receives an e-mail including an image and a command to transmit the image as a facsimile to a terminal station, a decryption section that decrypts an e-mail by performing a corresponding decryption processing if the e-mail has been encrypted using a public key cryptosystem, a judgment section that judges security on the basis of the state of the encryption processing on the e-mail or the decryption processing result by the decryption section, and a facsimile transmitting section that transmits as a facsimile to the terminal station at least the image that is included in the e-mail according to the command that is included in the e-mail if the judgment section has judged that security is high and transmits as a facsimile to the terminal station at least a judgment result from the judgment section if it was judged that security is low.

Abstract: An electronic mail sending and receiving apparatus includes a receiver which receives an electronic mail message, an inbound security processing unit which performs an inbound security processing on the received electronic mail message in accordance with a security requirement that the received electronic mail message satisfies, a transmitter which sends an electronic mail message, an outbound security processing unit which performs an outbound security processing on the electronic mail message to be sent, and a requesting unit. The requesting unit issues a message disposition notification requests the recipient of the electronic mail message sent from the transmitter to transmit, upon opening of the electronic mail message, a return electronic mail message notifying that the electronic mail message has been opened.

Abstract: A certificate managing device has a verifying section that verifies validity of a first public key certificate corresponding to a originating mail address when an electronic mail to which the first public key certificate is attached is received, a comparing section that compares newness of the first public key certificate with newness of a second public key certificate which is already registered as a public key certificate corresponding to the originating mail address, and a registering section that registers the first public key certificate as the public key certificate corresponding to the originating mail address in place of the second public key certificate when the first public key certificate is more recent than the second public key certificate.

Abstract: A scanned image transmitting device has an instruction-creating section that creates an instruction describing a process instruction in relation to a scanned image; an electronic mail creating section that creates an electronic mail including the scanned image and the instruction; an encrypting section that encrypts at least a portion of the electronic mail using a public key of a transmission destination; and a transmitting section that transmits the encrypted electronic mail to the transmission destination.

Abstract: Connected to a network are an electronic mail device, a directory server, and an intranet which connects devices such as a PC, a scanner, an Internet fax, and the like. The e-mail device includes a network I/F, a memory unit, an access determination unit, an entry determination unit, a certificate registration unit for registering a public key certificate in the e-mail device, and an information registration unit for accessing the directory server.

Abstract: A scanned image disclosure apparatus has a disclosure unit that encrypts and discloses to a disclosure destination a scanned image by using a public key or a private key relating to a public key certificate that has been verified to be valid, a re-verification unit that judges whether or not re-verification of the validity of the public key certificate is necessary during execution for the disclosure unit and performs re-verification if it is judged to be necessary, a termination unit that terminates the execution for the disclosure unit if the public key certificate was judged to be invalid by the re-verification unit.

Abstract: A network device which is provided. This device is connected to a network, and includes an internal clock, a time information obtaining section that obtains time information from a time server on the network, a time correcting section that corrects the internal clock based on the time information; wherein when a period of time between the time information and time indicated by the internal clock is less than or equal to a predetermined period of time, the time correcting section corrects the internal clock based on the time information, and, when the period of time between the time information and the time indicated by the internal clock exceeds the predetermined period of time, the time correcting section corrects the internal clock based on the time information only if the internal clock has not been corrected.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, provided with replacement parts each having a storage section therein and adapted to be detachably attached to the image forming apparatus and with an image forming unit arranged to form an image on a printing medium, includes: an information reading section that reads information from the storage section of at least one of the replacement parts; a certified part determining section that determines whether the replacement part is a certified part or not based on the information read from the storage section; and an image forming possibility determining section that determines whether or not image forming is possible using the replacement part determined to be a certified part by the certified part determining section. The image forming unit executes image forming using the replacement part determined to be a certified part if the image forming possibility determining section has determined that image forming is possible.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is mounted with a replacement component having a storage device and includes a processing unit that controls operation of the image forming apparatus by executing a control program and a reading/writing device that writes and reads data to and from the storage device under control of the processing unit. The processing unit generates a command with an error detection code to be transmitted to the storage device and supplies the generated command with the error detection code to the reading/writing device. The reading/writing device performs an error detecting operation on the command with the error detection code received from the processing unit, and informs the processing unit of detection of an error if detecting the error by the error detecting operation and sends the received command with the error detection code to the storage device if not detecting an error by the error detecting operation.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus has a replacement part equipped with a storage device installed therein. The apparatus has a code adding part adding an error detecting code to target data to be written in the storage device, and an encrypting part encrypting the data having the error detecting code added thereto in the code adding part, to generate encrypted data. In addition, the apparatus has a writing part writing the encrypted data to the storage device.

Abstract: A device is provided that combines data protection for stored data with ease of use in cases where data encrypted using a public key is received and stored.

Abstract: A device for facilitating verification of an electronic signature in an exchange of instructions between an in-house server and an outside server. Each server which is to execute a partial process of a cooperative service has, in a key storage unit (206), secret keys corresponding to public key certificates issued by an in-house CA and by an outside public CA. A signature key selection unit 216 judges whether a server which is to execute a process next is a device within or outside the company and selects an in-house secret key when the next server is an in-house device and an outside secret key when the next server is an outside device. A signature creation unit (218) calculates a value of an electronic signature for an job flow instruction to the next server using the selected secret key. An instruction division/integration unit (204) transmits to the next server the job flow instruction with the electronic signature value attached.