Information processing system, information processing method and program

Abstract

To enable authentication to be securely performed.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a contact destination setting part for setting a contact destination for each user ID for identifying a user, a confirmation code issuance part for issuing a confirmation code in association with the user ID, a contact destination notification part for notifying a medical institution of the user ID and a corresponding contact destination, a confirmation code transmission part for transmitting a corresponding confirmation code to the contact destination, an authentication information input part for receiving an input based on the confirmation code or the confirmation code, and an authentication processing part for authenticating the user on the basis of the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a method of transmitting a one-time password to a mobile information terminal to perform authentication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-249726 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order to send a one-time password to a portable information terminal, it is necessary to obtain a destination such as an email address, which is personal information.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and has an object to provide a technique that enables secure authentication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problem is an information processing system comprising: a contact setting unit that sets contact information for each subject ID that identifies a subject; a confirmation code issuing unit that issues a confirmation code corresponding to the subject ID; a contact notification unit that notifies a medical institution of the subject ID and the corresponding contact information; a confirmation code sending unit that sends the corresponding confirmation code to the contact information; an authentication information input unit that accepts input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; and an authentication processing unit that authenticates the subject based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code.

[0007] Other problems and solutions disclosed in this application will be made clear in the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and the drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a business operator can perform authentication safely without acquiring personal information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a management server 2. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 illustrates an example of the software configuration of a management server 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the flow of authentication processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] <System Overview> An information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information processing system of this embodiment is intended to authenticate a user when providing an application to a clinical trial without acquiring or managing the user's personal information. Examples of users of this information processing system include subjects in clinical trials and patients in treatment. In the following embodiment, an example will be described in which this information processing system is used between a medical institution and a subject in a clinical trial.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system. The information processing system of this embodiment is configured to include a management server 2. The management server 2 is communicably connected to a user terminal 1, a medical institution terminal 4, and a mail server 5 via a communication network 3. The communication network 3 is, for example, the Internet, and is constructed by a public telephone line network, a mobile phone line network, a wireless communication path, Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like.

[0012] The user terminal 1 is a computer operated by a user. The user terminal 1 can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer, etc. The user can access the management server 2 using the user terminal 1 to view and input information related to clinical trials. When the user uses a web application, the user is authenticated by the management server 2.

[0013] The management server 2 is a computer managed by a provider of a Web application. The management server 2 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing.

[0014] The medical institution terminal 4 is a computer operated by an employee of the medical institution that conducts the clinical trial.

[0015] <Management Server> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the management server 2. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used. The management server 2 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203, a communication interface 204, an input device 205, and an output device 206. The storage device 203 is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory that stores various data and programs. The communication interface 204 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 3, and is, for example, an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, a wireless communication device for wireless communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector or an RS232C connector for serial communication, etc. The input device 205 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, etc. that input data. The output device 206 is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, etc. that output data. Each functional unit of the management server 2 described below is realized by the CPU 201 reading a program stored in the storage device 203 into the memory 202 and executing it, and each storage unit of the management server 2 is realized as part of the storage area provided by the memory 202 and the storage device 203.

[0016] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the management server 2. The management server 2 includes an authentication code storage unit 231, a confirmation code storage unit 232, a subject ID storage unit 233, a contact setting unit 211, a confirmation code issuing unit 212, a contact information notifying unit 213, a confirmation code sending unit 214, an authentication information input unit 215, an authentication processing unit 216, an authentication code generating unit 217, and a clinical trial application providing unit 218.

[0017] <Storage section> The authentication code storage unit 231 stores information for identifying a user (subject ID), the user's contact information created by the management server 2, and a code corresponding to the contact information (hereinafter referred to as authentication code) in association with each other. In this embodiment, the user's contact information is an email address (hereinafter referred to as clinical trial email address) newly issued for the user. Note that an ID for a chat service may be used as the contact information. The authentication code storage unit 231 also stores a flag (authentication code valid flag) indicating whether the authentication code is valid or not, in association with the contact information and the authentication code. The subject ID uniquely identifies a user within the system, but is not linked to the user's personal information.

[0018] The confirmation code storage unit 232 stores a code (hereinafter, referred to as a confirmation code) for confirming that the user is a subject (i.e., for authenticating the user). The confirmation code storage unit 232 stores the confirmation code in association with a subject ID that identifies the subject. The confirmation code storage unit 232 also stores a flag (confirmation code valid flag) indicating whether the confirmation code is valid or not.

[0019] The subject ID storage unit 233 stores the subject ID. The subject ID storage unit 233 stores the subject ID and a contact address (clinical trial email address) in association with each other. The subject ID storage unit 233 may store a password (initial password) for the clinical trial email address.

[0020] <Functional section> The contact setting unit 211 sets a contact linked to the subject ID. In this embodiment, the contact setting unit 211 issues a new email address (clinical trial email address) corresponding to the subject ID. The contact setting unit 211 can, for example, access the mail server 5 to create a new clinical trial email address. A general process can be adopted for issuing a new email address. The contact setting unit 211 can register the contact (clinical trial email address) in the subject ID storage unit 233 in association with the subject ID. The contact setting unit 211 can set the contact in response to being given a subject ID by an administrator, for example.

[0021] The confirmation code issuing unit 212 issues a confirmation code. The confirmation code issuing unit 212 can issue a confirmation code in association with a subject ID. The confirmation code can be, for example, a random character string of a predetermined number of characters. The confirmation code issuing unit 212 registers the confirmation code in the confirmation code storage unit 232 in association with the subject ID. At this time, the confirmation code valid flag can be set to true. The confirmation code issuing unit 212 may store a result of applying the confirmation code to a predetermined function (for example, a hash function). The confirmation code issuing unit 212 can create a confirmation code in response to, for example, being provided with a subject ID by an administrator.

[0022] The contact information notification unit 213 notifies the medical institution of the subject ID and the corresponding contact information. The contact information notification unit 213 can read out the subject ID and the clinical trial email address from the subject ID storage unit 233 and transmit them to the medical institution terminal 4. If an initial password is set, the contact information notification unit 213 may also transmit the initial password together.

[0023] The confirmation code sending unit 214 sends a confirmation code to the user. When a subject ID is given, the confirmation code sending unit 214 can read out a confirmation code corresponding to the subject ID from the confirmation code storage unit 232, read out a clinical trial email address corresponding to the subject ID from the subject ID storage unit 233, and send the confirmation code to the clinical trial email address.

[0024] The authentication information input unit 215 accepts information (authentication information) necessary for authenticating a user. The authentication information input unit 215 can accept a confirmation code as the authentication information.

[0025] The authentication processing unit 216 performs authentication of the user. For example, the authentication processing unit 216 can perform authentication of the user based on whether or not a confirmation code received from the user matches a confirmation code stored in the confirmation code storage unit 232. In addition, in the case where the result of applying the confirmation code to a predetermined function is stored in the confirmation code storage unit 231, the authentication processing unit 216 can also perform authentication based on whether or not a result of applying the confirmation code received from the user to a predetermined function matches information stored in the confirmation code storage unit 232.

[0026] The authentication code creation unit 217 creates an authentication code corresponding to the contact information. The authentication code creation unit 217 creates an authentication code so that valid authentication codes in the system are unique. For example, the authentication code creation unit 217 can create an authentication code by incrementing numbers to create a four-digit number. In this case, the numbers can be rotated (for example, 9999 followed by 0). The four-digit number may be a hexadecimal number. It may also be a four-character string using ASCII code. Note that, if an authentication code identical to the incremented authentication code is stored in the authentication code storage unit 231 and the corresponding authentication code valid flag is true, the authentication code creation unit 217 can skip that authentication code and increment it again.

[0027] The contact means notification unit can notify the medical institution of the subject ID, the corresponding contact information, and the corresponding authentication code.

[0028] In this case, the confirmation code transmission unit 214 can accept input of an authentication code from the subject, read out a contact address corresponding to the accepted authentication code (and for which the authentication code valid flag is true) from the authentication code storage unit 231, and transmit the confirmation code to the read out contact address. When the confirmation code transmission unit 214 reads out a contact address corresponding to the authentication code from the authentication code storage unit 231, it can update the authentication code valid flag corresponding to the authentication code to false.

[0029] The clinical trial application providing unit 218 provides a Web application for providing information related to clinical trials, and inputting and managing information, etc. Note that a detailed explanation of the Web application will be omitted here.

[0030] <Authentication process> 4 is a diagram for explaining the flow of authentication processing. In the information processing system of this embodiment, it is assumed that a Web application provided by the management server 2 is accessed from a smartphone (user terminal 1) owned by a user who is a subject, and that authentication of the user is performed using this user terminal 1 when starting to use the Web application. Note that the user terminal 1 may be a single smartphone, or may include other terminals (whether singular or plural) owned by the subject 13.

[0031] (1) First, the researcher R (including employees of the web application provider, medical institution employees 12, and those who can access the management server 2) accesses the management server 2 through a specified terminal (not shown) and performs operations to issue a subject ID, authentication code, and clinical trial email address. This operation causes the contact setting unit 211 of the management server 2 to issue a new clinical trial email address in the mail server 5, and the authentication code creation unit 217 issues a subject ID that identifies the subject and a unique authentication code linked to the subject ID. At this point, the clinical trial email address and its password are managed by the management server 2 and are not linked to the user, and the management server 2 does not know the user's personal information. (2) The contact information notification unit 213 transmits the issued subject ID, authentication code, clinical trial email address, and URL for accessing the Web application (hereinafter referred to as clinical trial URL) to the medical institution terminal 4.

[0032] (3) At the medical institution, the medical institution employee 12 links the subject ID received by the medical institution terminal 4 with personal information of the user who is the actual subject (e.g., information written in the medical record information). The medical institution employee 12 may include medical institution employees such as doctors and nurses, and external personnel such as clinical research associates (CRAs).

[0033] (4) The medical institution employee 12 transmits the subject ID, authentication code, clinical trial email address (and initial setting password), and clinical trial URL to the subject 13 (user). For example, the employee 12 can send this information to an email address (hereinafter referred to as a personal email address) managed by the subject 13 that the medical institution obtained from the subject 13. Even in this case, the personal email address is not transmitted to the operator of the management server 2. The subject ID, authentication code, issued clinical trial email address, and clinical trial URL may be handed over as information printed on paper, for example. In this case, the clinical trial URL may be provided by a QR code (registered trademark).

[0034] (5) The subject 13 operates the user terminal 1 to log in to the mail server 5, etc., to make the clinical trial email address available so that the subject 13 can view emails delivered to the clinical trial email address on the user terminal 1. (6) In addition, the subject 13 accesses the web application from the user terminal 1 using the clinical trial URL. (7) In response to a request from the Web application, the subject 13 inputs at least the authentication code into the Web application via the user terminal 1. Note that both the subject ID and the authentication code may be input.

[0035] (8) The user terminal 1 transmits the entered authentication code to the management server 2 via the web application. (9) The confirmation code sending unit 214 of the management server 2 reads out from the authentication code storage unit 231 the clinical trial email address that corresponds to the authentication code and whose authentication code valid flag is true. (10) The confirmation code issuing unit 212 issues a confirmation code corresponding to the subject ID and registers it in the confirmation code storage unit 232. Here, the confirmation code valid flag is set to true. (11) The confirmation code sending unit 214 sends the issued confirmation code to the retrieved clinical trial email address.

[0036] (12) The subject 13 accesses the mail server 5 via the user terminal 1, retrieves the email sent to his / her clinical trial email address, and obtains the confirmation code. (12a) The confirmation code may be provided by push notification to the user terminal 1, SMS transmission, or voice call, or by an authentication service or application (token software or token device) provided by a third party. (13) The subject 13 enters the confirmed confirmation code into the web application.

[0037] (14) The user terminal 1 transmits the entered confirmation code to the management server 2. (15) The authentication processing unit 216 of the management server 2 authenticates the user based on whether the confirmation code received from the user terminal 1 matches a confirmation code stored in the confirmation code memory unit 232, which corresponds to the subject ID and has a confirmation code valid flag set to true.

[0038] As described above, according to the information processing system of this embodiment, it is possible to transmit a confirmation code to the subject and authenticate the subject without acquiring or managing the subject's personal information on the management server 2 side. The information processing system according to this embodiment can be adopted not only for subjects but also for actual patients, that is, for treatment using an application. Even in this case, the operator of the management server 2 is not provided with personal information such as the patient's personal email address.

[0039] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the above embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

[0040] For example, in this embodiment, an authentication code is input, but contact information such as a clinical trial email address may be input instead of inputting an authentication code. In this case, the management server 2 may transmit a confirmation code to the clinical trial email address received from the user. The management server 2 may check whether the contact information received from the user is issued by the management server 2, and may not collect personal information of the user.

[0041] In addition, in this embodiment, the user is authenticated based on whether or not the confirmation code input by the user matches the confirmation code stored in the management server 2, but authentication may be performed using information based on the confirmation code. For example, the result of applying the confirmation code to a predetermined function (e.g., a hash function) may be stored in the confirmation code storage unit 214, and the confirmation code received from the user may be applied to the predetermined function to determine whether or not it matches the result stored in the confirmation code storage unit 214. Also, the user terminal 1 may obtain a result of applying the confirmation code to the predetermined function and transmit that result to the management server 2, and the management server 2 may authenticate the user based on whether or not the result received from the user matches the result stored in the management server 2.

[0042] Also, for example, authentication may be performed using a passcode corresponding to a timestamp used for two-step authentication. In this case, the confirmation code may be, for example, a QR code that provides information for setting an authentication app registered in the user terminal 1.

[0043] In addition, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the user is authenticated when using a Web application provided by the management server 2, but it can also be applied to an application installed in the user terminal 1. In this case, too, the application installed in the user terminal 1 may accept input of a subject ID, an authentication code, and a confirmation code from the user and transmit them to the management server 2.

[0044] <Disclosures> The present disclosure also includes the following configurations. [Item 1] a contact setting unit that sets contact information for each subject ID that identifies the subject; a confirmation code issuing unit that issues a confirmation code in association with the subject ID; a contact information notifying unit that notifies a medical institution of the subject ID and the corresponding contact information; a confirmation code sending unit that sends the corresponding confirmation code to the contact; an authentication information input unit that accepts input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; an authentication processing unit that authenticates the subject based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; An information processing system comprising: [Item 2] the contact setting unit issues an email address corresponding to the subject ID; 2. The information processing system according to item 1, [Item 3] an authentication code generating unit for generating an authentication code corresponding to the contact information; an authentication code storage unit that stores the contact information and the authentication code in association with each other; Equipped with the contact means notification unit notifies the medical institution of the subject ID, the corresponding contact information, and the corresponding authentication code; the confirmation code transmission unit receives an input of the authentication code from the subject, reads out the contact information corresponding to the received authentication code from the authentication code storage unit, and transmits the confirmation code to the read out contact information; 2. The information processing system according to item 1, [Item 4] A step of setting a contact point for each subject ID that identifies a subject; issuing a confirmation code in association with the subject ID; notifying a medical institution of the subject ID and the corresponding contact information; sending the corresponding verification code to the contact; receiving an input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; authenticating the subject based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; An information processing method characterized by being executed by a computer. [Item 5] A step of setting a contact point for each subject ID that identifies a subject; issuing a confirmation code in association with the subject ID; notifying a medical institution of the subject ID and the corresponding contact information; sending the corresponding verification code to the contact; receiving an input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; authenticating the subject based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; A program for causing a computer to execute the following. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 User terminal 2 Management Server 4 Medical institution terminals 5. Mail Server

Claims

1. a contact setting unit that sets contact information for each user ID that identifies a user; a confirmation code issuing unit that issues a confirmation code in association with the user ID; a contact information notifying unit that notifies a medical institution of the user ID and the corresponding contact information; a confirmation code sending unit that sends the corresponding confirmation code to the contact; an authentication information input unit that accepts input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; an authentication processing unit that authenticates the user based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; An information processing system comprising:

2. the contact setting unit issues an email address corresponding to the user ID; 2. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

3. an authentication code generating unit for generating an authentication code corresponding to the contact information; an authentication code storage unit that stores the contact information and the authentication code in association with each other; Equipped with the contact means notification unit notifies the medical institution of the user ID, the corresponding contact information, and the corresponding authentication code; the confirmation code transmission unit accepts input of the authentication code from the user, reads out the contact information corresponding to the accepted authentication code from the authentication code storage unit, and transmits the confirmation code to the read out contact information; 2. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

4. A step of setting a contact point for each user ID that identifies a user; issuing a confirmation code in association with the user ID; notifying a medical institution of the user ID and the corresponding contact information; sending the corresponding verification code to the contact; receiving an input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; authenticating the user based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; An information processing method characterized by being executed by a computer.

5. A step of setting a contact point for each user ID that identifies a user; issuing a confirmation code in association with the user ID; notifying a medical institution of the user ID and the corresponding contact information; sending the corresponding verification code to the contact; receiving an input of the confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; authenticating the user based on the received confirmation code or information based on the confirmation code; A program for causing a computer to execute the following.

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