Information management control device, information management control system, information management control method, and program

Abstract

The information management control device (100) manages content data including operational data of a device (200) to be managed and controls access to the content data, and includes an attribute information assignment unit that assigns attribute information including information on the source of the content data to each piece of content data based on preset rules; a role generation unit (120) that generates role information including the information on the source of the content data and indicating conditions under which the content data can be accessed; an assignment unit that identifies a provider of the content data based on the association information and assigns role information to a user who is a recipient of the content data and is authorized by the identified provider; and a determination unit that determines whether access is permitted based on the attribute information assigned to the content data and the conditions of the role information assigned to the user who has requested access to the content data.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information management control device, an information management control system, an information management control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Role-based access control (RBAC) is a well-known technology for enhancing the security of information systems. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an information system that controls access to information resources based on abstract roles determined by user attributes and access permissions associated with the abstract roles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-4549 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this information system, one access right is set for each role. However, information managed by the information system is provided by various providers. Therefore, in the information system of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to flexibly set access rights, such as setting access rights for each provider. Furthermore, creating and managing access rights from scratch in different systems for each provider requires a huge amount of work. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of appropriately managing access rights for information from various providers with less work.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to propose an information management control device, an information management system, an information management method, and a program that can properly manage access rights to information from various sources with less effort. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the information management control device of the present disclosure is an information management control device that manages content data including operational data of the device to be managed and controls access to the content data, and includes: an attribute information assignment unit that assigns attribute information including origin information for identifying the device that generated the content data to each content data based on preset rules; a role generation unit that generates role information including the origin information of the content data and indicating the conditions under which the content data can be accessed; an assignment unit that identifies the provider of the content data based on association information that associates the origin information included in the role information generated by the role generation unit with the provider of the content data generated by the device identified by the origin information, and assigns the role information generated by the role generation unit to a destination user that is authorized by the identified provider; and a determination unit that determines whether a user can access the content data based on the attribute information assigned to the content data and the conditions of the role information assigned to the user who requested access to the content data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, role information indicating conditions under which content data can be accessed is created, and the provider is identified based on association information that associates the generator information included in the role information with the provider of the content data generated by the device identified by the generator information. The information management control device assigns this role information to a recipient user authorized by the identified provider. Then, it determines whether or not to allow access to the content data based on the attribute information assigned to the content data and the conditions of the role information assigned to the user who has requested access to the content data. Therefore, access rights to information from various providers can be appropriately managed with less effort. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an information management control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of attribute management information held by an attribute management unit shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a combination table held by the role generating unit shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 4] 2A is a diagram showing an example of a user table and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of a generation source table held by the role generation unit shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 5] FIG. 2 shows an example of a custom role creation screen displayed on the terminal shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a role definition table generated by a role generation unit shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of overall management of a group of custom roles created by the role generation unit shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a change parameter setting screen displayed on the terminal shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of assignment information generated by a role generation unit shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a physical configuration of an information management control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 11]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen displayed on the terminal shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an access control process performed by an information management control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an information management control device, an information management control system, an information management control method, and a program according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] An information management control device according to this embodiment will be described using an example in which it is applied to an information management control system 1 shown in FIG.

[0011] The information management control system 1 registers information provided by an information provider in a storage 140 via an information management control device 100 that provides cloud computing services and controls access to the registered information. Access to information is limited to information recipient companies authorized by the information providing company, and accessible information is limited to items authorized by the information providing company. Specifically, the information management control system 1 is used by multiple end-user companies that operate equipment, including factory automation equipment, installed in factories, and a maintenance company that provides maintenance support for the equipment and factory lines. The maintenance company accesses the maintenance target equipment from a maintenance terminal over a public wide-area communication network and provides remote maintenance support services to the end-user companies to maintain the maintenance target equipment. The information management control device 100 is managed by a management company that is different from the end-user companies and the maintenance company. When providing maintenance support, the maintenance company needs to access information held by the end-user companies. Therefore, the following describes an example in which a user at a maintenance company accesses information provided by the end-user companies.

[0012] The information management control system 1 stores various content data provided by each end-user company, with attribute information including a confidentiality level indicating the degree of confidentiality of the data. The content mainly relates to the managed device 200 and includes information necessary for maintenance. For example, the content data includes operation data collected by the device 200 indicating the operating status of the device 200, output data from various sensors equipped in the device 200, and data such as drawing data, task history, maintenance history, parts master data, and manuals for the device 200 owned by the end-user company. Note that when a maintenance company acts as an information provider, the content data may be data added to the information management control system 1 from a user terminal of the maintenance company, such as manuals and maintenance history provided by the maintenance company to the end-user company.

[0013] The information management control system 1 generates a custom role that is a combination of accessible content data and operation permissions for that content data, and assigns it to a user. Operation permissions refer to the authority to perform operations such as viewing, adding, updating, and deleting data, for example. When a user accesses content data, the information management control system 1 determines whether the user has access permissions to the content data based on the custom role assigned to the user.

[0014] Returning to FIG. 1 , the information management control system 1 includes an information management control device 100 that controls access to content data stored in storage 140, and a gateway 300 that transmits data collected from devices 200 installed in a factory to the information management control device 100, and these are communicatively connected via a network 500. A user at a maintenance company or an end-user company accesses the content data from a terminal 400 via an API (Application Programming Interface) 150 of the information management control device 100. Note that, although there is only one gateway 300 in the illustrated example, two or more gateways 300 may be connected depending on the number of end-user companies that use the information management control system 1.

[0015] The information management control device 100 includes an attribute management unit 110 that manages the attributes of content data, a role generation unit 120 that generates custom roles and assigns them to users, an access control unit 130 that controls access to content data, storage 140 that stores content data, and an API 150 that exchanges data bidirectionally between the storage 140 and the terminal 400.

[0016] The attribute management unit 110 manages the attributes of the content data stored in the storage 140. Specifically, the attribute management unit 110 holds attribute management information for managing the attributes of the content data as parameters.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the attribute management information includes a "data source" that identifies the device 200 that generated the content data, a "data type" that indicates the output format of the data, a "data use (for maintenance company)" and a "data use (for end-user company)" that indicate the use of the information included in the content data, and a "confidentiality level" that indicates the level of confidentiality of the content data. Note that the "data source" may also be information that indicates the installation location of the device 200, the system that generated the content data, or the user who created the content data. When the role generation unit 120 generates a custom role, the attribute management unit 110 provides the role generation unit 120 with attribute management information. The data source is an example of source information.

[0018] Furthermore, when the attribute management unit 110 receives content data including operation data of the device 200 via the gateway 300, it executes a process of adding attribute information to the received content data based on a preset rule. The process of adding attribute information to content data will be described in detail later. The attribute management unit 110 is an example of an attribute information adding unit.

[0019] Returning to FIG. 1 , the role generation unit 120 creates a custom role based on the attribute management information managed by the attribute management unit 110 and assigns the created custom role to a user of a maintenance company or an end-user company. A custom role indicates information regarding the conditions under which a user of a maintenance company authorized by an end-user company can access the content data of the end-user company, or the conditions under which a user of an end-user company can access the content data of its own company. Specifically, the role generation unit 120 generates and stores a combination table indicating combinations of end-user companies that provide information and maintenance companies that receive information. The combination table is generated, for example, by an administrator of the maintenance company. As shown in FIG. 3 , the combination table includes fields for a “recipient” that identifies the information recipient company and “provider 1,” “provider 2,” “provider 3,” and so on that identify the information provider companies. In the illustrated example, the information recipient “maintenance company 1” receives content data from “end-user company 1” and “end-user company 2.” When creating a custom role for a maintenance company, the role generation unit 120 generates a custom role for accessing the content data of the end-user companies set in the combination table. The combination table is an example of combination information.

[0020] The role generation unit 120 generates a role definition table that defines custom roles based on the setting operations performed by the maintenance company and the administrator of the end-user company on the custom role creation screen 600 shown in Fig. 5. When controlling access to content data provided by the maintenance company, it is sufficient to generate custom roles that indicate the conditions under which the end-user company can access the maintenance company's content data, or the conditions under which users of the maintenance company can access their own content data.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 6 , the role definition table is a table for managing multiple custom roles available to each company as a group. The role definition table includes a “custom role name” that identifies each custom role, a “role parameter” that indicates the role of a user assigned each custom role, a “source parameter” that indicates attribute information of the content data to be accessed, and an “authority parameter” that indicates the access authority granted to each custom role. The “source parameter” is a parameter based on attribute management information maintained by the attribute management unit 110 and includes four parameters: “data source,” “data type,” “data use,” and “confidentiality level.” In the illustrated example, the role of a user assigned the custom role “role A1” is “XX department production leader.” The content data that this user can access is data generated from “XX factory,” the data type is “standard format file,” the data use is “system management,” and the confidentiality level is “A.” Furthermore, the table indicates that a user assigned the custom role “role A1” has the operational authority to “view, update, delete, and add” content data with the attributes set by the “source parameter.” The role definition table does not need to include a "custom role name," and "role parameters" may be used as identification information for each custom role. The role generation unit 120 generates and stores a role definition table for each company. A method for users to set custom roles will be described later. The role definition table is an example of role information, and the source parameters are an example of attribute conditions.

[0022] The role generation unit 120 separately manages the role definition table of the maintenance company to which content data is provided and the role definition table of the end-user company that provides the content data. As shown in FIG. 7 , the role generation unit 120 sets a first role group representing a collection of role definition tables of multiple maintenance companies and a second role group representing a collection of role definition tables of multiple end-user companies. The maintenance companies and the end-user companies share each other's role definition tables via ports for accessing their respective role definition tables. Specifically, in the illustrated example, when content data is provided to the maintenance company 1 from the end-user company 1, the role generation unit 120 sets a port for the maintenance company 1 to access the custom role of the end-user company 1 and a port for the end-user company 1 to access the custom role of the maintenance company 1. By setting these ports, it becomes possible to manage multiple maintenance companies and user companies that receive remote maintenance support work from each maintenance company as respective groups. The role generation unit 120 manages the role definition tables included in the first role group so that they can be viewed, copied, and modified. Furthermore, the role generation unit 120 manages the role definition tables included in the second role group so that they can be viewed and copied but cannot be modified. This allows, for example, the end user company 1, which is the source of the information, to view and grant permission to the role definition table created by the maintenance company 1 via the set port, and to set and modify the "source parameters" or "authority parameters" of the role definition table. Furthermore, the maintenance company 1, which is the recipient of the information, can copy some of the custom roles from the role definition table created by the end user company 1 for its own users and use them as custom roles to assign to the users of the maintenance company 1.

[0023] Returning to FIG. 1 , when a maintenance company provided with content data creates a custom role, the role generation unit 120 determines the range of configurable “source parameters” or “authority parameters.” Specifically, the role generation unit 120 sets the range based on a change parameter setting screen 700 (shown in FIG. 8 ) that is displayed on the screen of the terminal 400 operated by the administrator of the end user company and that sets the range of parameters that can be set by the maintenance company. As shown in the figure, the change parameter setting screen 700 is a screen for setting a “common parameter group” that indicates a group of parameters that can be set by all maintenance companies authorized by the end user company, a “semi-common parameter group (general parameter group)” that indicates a group of parameters that can only be set by some authorized maintenance companies, and a “specific parameter group” that indicates a group of parameters that can only be set by the end user company. In the example shown in the figure, the common parameter group has the source parameters “data source,” “data type,” and “data use” and the authority parameter “view” checked, indicating that all maintenance companies authorized by the end user company can only create custom roles that grant viewing authority to the content data provided by the end user company.

[0024] Returning to FIG. 1, when a custom role is assigned to each user by an administrator of a maintenance company or an end-user company, the role generation unit 120 generates assignment information indicating the assignment of the custom role for each user. Specifically, the role generation unit 120 holds a user table shown in FIG. 4(a) that associates a user ID identifying a user with identification information of the maintenance company to which the user belongs, and a generation source table shown in FIG. 4(b) that associates parameters of a "data source" assigned to a custom role with identification information of the end-user company to which the "data source" belongs. The role generation unit 120 identifies the maintenance company to which the user belongs by referring to the user table in FIG. 4(a). Next, the role generation unit 120 reads the "data source" parameters of the custom role to be assigned from the role definition table in FIG. 6. Next, the role generation unit 120 identifies the end-user company that provides the custom role, corresponding to the "data source" parameters, by referring to the generation source table in FIG. 4(b). Next, the role generation unit 120 refers to the combination table shown in FIG. 3 and determines whether the maintenance company to which the user belongs is provided with content data from the identified end user company. If the role generation unit 120 determines that the maintenance company to which the user belongs is provided with content data from the identified end user company, it assigns a custom role to the user and generates assignment information indicating the assignment of the custom role for each user. The process of generating the assignment information will be described in detail later. The role generation unit 120 is an example of an assignment unit, and the generation source table is an example of association information.

[0025] 9, the allocation information includes a "user ID" that identifies each user, and "custom role 1," "custom role 2," ... that identify the custom role assigned to each user. The user ID is, for example, a login ID that is assigned in advance to a user of a maintenance company or an end-user company to access the storage 140 using the terminal 400. The allocation information is generated for each company.

[0026] Returning to FIG. 1, the access control unit 130 controls access to content data stored in the storage 140 based on the custom role assigned to the user and the attribute information of the content data.

[0027] Specifically, when a request for access to content data is made, the access control unit 130 refers to the assignment information shown in FIG. 9 to identify the custom role assigned to the user. The access control unit 130 refers to the role definition table shown in FIG. 6 to acquire the source parameters and authority parameters set for the identified custom role. The access control unit 130 determines whether the attribute information assigned to the content data matches the source parameters, and determines whether the user's operation matches the authority parameters. For example, when a user assigned the custom role of "role A1" performs an operation to view certain content data, the access control unit 130 determines whether the attribute information of the content data matches the source parameters of "role A1." If the access control unit 130 determines that the attribute information of the content data matches the source parameters of "role A1," it determines whether the viewing authority parameter for "role A1" exists. In the example shown in the figure, since the viewing authority parameter is assigned to "role A1," the access control unit 130 determines that the viewing authority parameter exists and permits the user to view the content data. The access control unit 130 is an example of a determination unit.

[0028] 1, the storage 140 stores the operational data generated by the device 200 and various content data created by users of the maintenance company or end-user company. Each piece of content data is assigned attribute information shown in FIG. 2 by the attribute management unit 110 or the user.

[0029] The API 150 is an interface for bidirectionally exchanging data between the storage 140 and the terminal 400. Specifically, the API 150 transmits content data from the storage 140 that is permitted to be accessed by the access control unit 130 to the terminal 400. The API 150 also receives content data from the terminal 400 that is created by a user of an end user company and that is permitted to be accessed by the access control unit 130.

[0030] The device 200 is, for example, a control device that controls actuators and sensors in a factory. The data collected by the information management control device 100 includes data acquired by a vibration sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a flow rate sensor, and the like provided in the device 200.

[0031] The gateway 300 is a device that collects data from the device 200 and transmits the collected data to the information management control device 100. The gateway 300 performs processing such as processing the collected data, filing the collected data, or assigning a data use to the collected data.

[0032] The terminal 400 is, for example, a desktop personal computer, a laptop personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. The terminal 400 is used by users of the maintenance company and the end-user company to access content data registered in the storage 140 and perform operations such as viewing, registering, deleting, and updating the content data. The terminal 400 also accepts a login request for accessing the storage 140 from the terminal 400 based on instructions from the user. The login request includes, for example, a user ID and a password. The terminal 400 transmits the acquired login to the information management control device 100, and if the user is determined to be a legitimate user, access to the storage 140 is permitted. The terminal 400 is also used to register content data created by the user himself / herself in the storage 140. The users of the maintenance company and the end-user company also create a custom role by displaying a custom role creation screen 600 shown in FIG. 5 on the screen of the terminal 400.

[0033] Next, the physical configuration of the information management control device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The information management control device 100 may exist on a cloud server. The information management control device 100 includes a processor 11 that executes processing according to a program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 which is a volatile memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 13 which is a non-volatile memory, a storage unit 14 that stores data, an input unit 15 that accepts input of information, a display unit 16 that visualizes and displays information, and a communication unit 17 that transmits and receives information, all of which are connected via an internal bus 99.

[0034] The processor 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 11 executes various processes by reading programs stored in the storage unit 14 into the RAM 12 and executing the programs. The processor 11 executes processes by the attribute management unit 110, the role generation unit 120, and the access control unit 130 as the main functions provided by the programs.

[0035] The RAM 12 is used as a work area for the CPU. The ROM 13 stores a control program executed by the CPU for the basic operation of the information management control device 100, a BIOS (Basic Input Output System), and the like.

[0036] The memory unit 14 includes a hard disk drive, and stores programs to be executed by the CPU and various data used when the programs are executed. The memory unit 14 functions as a storage 140.

[0037] The input unit 15 is a user interface including a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The display unit 16 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display that visualizes and displays information.

[0038] The communication unit 17 is a network termination device or a wireless communication device that connects to the network, and a serial interface or a LAN interface that connects to them. The communication unit 17 receives a signal from the outside and outputs data indicated by this signal to the processor 11.

[0039] Next, the operation of the information management control device 100 having the above configuration will be described.

[0040] (Custom role creation process) The information management control device 100 controls access to content data based on a custom role assigned to a user who accesses content data provided by an end-user company that is an information provider. Here, a process for creating a custom role will be described. The following describes an example in which a maintenance company that is an information provider creates a custom role.

[0041] Specifically, the administrator at the maintenance company displays the custom role creation screen 600 shown in FIG. 5 for creating a custom role on the terminal 400, and creates a custom role by operating the creation screen.

[0042] As shown, the custom role creation screen 600 includes an input form that accepts input of a custom role name to identify the custom role, a role tab that sets the role of users to whom each custom role is assigned, a source parameter tab that sets the attributes of accessible content data, and a permission parameter tab that sets the access permissions assigned to each custom role.

[0043] The source parameter tab includes multiple tabs for setting each source parameter: a "data source" that identifies the device 200 or location where the content data was generated; a "data type" that indicates the output format and confidentiality level of the content data; and a "data usage" that indicates the usage of the information included in the content data. The maintenance company administrator selects each item from options preset for each parameter to create a custom role. The role generation unit 120 generates the role definition table shown in FIG. 6 based on the custom role created by the maintenance company administrator. The information displayed as source parameter options is based on the attribute management information shown in FIG. 2 and held by the attribute management unit 110. The attribute management information may define combinations of each attribute. In this case, the custom role creation screen 600 may display a narrowed down version of each option by rearranging the order of the tabs for the source parameters "data source," "data type," and "data usage." If the range of parameters that the maintenance company can set is preset on the change parameter setting screen 700 shown in FIG. 8, the maintenance company's custom role creation screen 600 may display parameters outside the set range in a display format that prevents them from being changed.

[0044] The maintenance company administrator assigns the created custom role to a user. The maintenance company administrator displays an input screen for assigning a custom role on the terminal 400 and assigns a custom role name that identifies the custom role to a user ID that identifies the user on the input screen. Specifically, the role generation unit 120 holds a user table shown in FIG. 4(a) that associates a user ID that identifies a user with identification information of the maintenance company to which the user belongs, and a generation source table shown in FIG. 4(b) that associates parameters of a "data source" assigned to a custom role with identification information of the end-user company to which the "data source" belongs. For example, when assigning "role A1" in the role definition table shown in FIG. 6 to a user with user ID "A0001," the role generation unit 120 refers to the user table in FIG. 4(a) and identifies that the user with "A0001" belongs to "Maintenance Company 1." Next, the role generation unit 120 reads from the role definition table in FIG. 6 that the "data source" of "role A1" is "XX Factory." Next, the role generation unit 120 refers to the generation source table of FIG. 4(b) and determines that "XX Factory" is a factory of "End User Company 1." Next, the role generation unit 120 refers to the combination table shown in FIG. 3 and determines whether "Maintenance Company 1" has received content data from "End User Company 1." In the example shown in the figure, since "End User Company 1" is included in the providers of "Maintenance Company 1," the role generation unit 120 assigns "Role A1" to user "A0001" and generates assignment information indicating the assignment of custom roles for each user. Based on an operation by the administrator of the maintenance company, the role generation unit 120 generates the assignment information shown in FIG. 9 and transmits it to the access control unit 130.

[0045] Furthermore, an administrator at the maintenance company can create custom roles for users at the maintenance company by duplicating role definition information created by an end-user company for its own users. Specifically, the administrator at the maintenance company displays a screen for reading out role definition information on the terminal 400 and inputs the identification information of the end-user company into an input form. The role generation unit 120 refers to the combination table shown in FIG. 3 and determines whether the end-user company identified by the input identification information permits access from this maintenance company. If it determines that access is permitted, the role generation unit 120 transmits the role definition table of the end-user company shown in FIG. 6 to the terminal 400 via a preset port. The administrator at the maintenance company selects a custom role from the role definition table of the end-user company and adds it to the role definition table of the maintenance company. The administrator at the maintenance company displays an input screen for assigning a custom role on the terminal 400 and assigns a custom role name that identifies the custom role to a user ID that identifies the user on the input screen.

[0046] (Content data registration process) Next, a description will be given of a process in which the information management control device 100 stores content data in the storage 140. The information management control device 100 stores in the storage 140 content data including operation data of the device 200 generated by the device 200 owned by the end-user company and content data created by users of the end-user company.

[0047] First, a process of storing the operation data generated by the device 200 will be described. When the attribute management unit 110 of the information management control device 100 receives the operation data of the device 200 via the gateway 300, the attribute management unit 110 executes a process of adding attribute information to the received operation data based on a preset rule.

[0048] Specifically, for example, the attribute management unit 110 stores a correspondence table that defines the correspondence between address information of the device 200 and a device ID that uniquely identifies the device 200. Based on the correspondence table, the attribute management unit 110 converts the address information of the device 200 included in the received operational data into a device ID and assigns the device ID to the operational data as attribute information of the "data source." Furthermore, the attribute management unit 110 adds "data type" attribute information to the received operational data based on a preset rule, such as classifying the "data type" of operational data that includes a time in the column information as a "standard format file" and classifying the "data type" of other operational data as a "general-purpose file." Furthermore, for example, the attribute management unit 110 adds "confidentiality level" attribute information to the received content data based on a rule that determines the confidentiality level of the content data according to a combination of parameters in the attribute information. The attribute management unit 110 associates identification information for uniquely identifying the operational data to which the attribute information has been added, and stores the data in the storage 140.

[0049] Next, a process for storing content data created by a user of an end user company in storage 140 will be described. The user displays an input screen 800 for assigning attribute information to content data, as shown in FIG. 11 , on terminal 400, and performs settings for assigning attribute information to the content data on input screen 800. As shown in the figure, input screen 800 includes a file path that accepts input of the storage address of the content data to be registered in storage 140, and a source parameter tab for setting attributes to be assigned to the content data. For the content data identified by the address entered in the file path, the user selects each item from options preset for each source parameter and sets the attribute information to be assigned. The attribute management unit 110 adds the attribute information set by the user to the content data, associates it with identification information for uniquely identifying the data, and stores it in storage 140.

[0050] (Access control processing) Next, the operation of the access control process for controlling access to content data stored in storage 140 will be described with reference to Fig. 12. The following describes an example in which a user of maintenance company 1 views content data registered by end user company 1.

[0051] When a user issues a request to access content data, the information management controlling apparatus 100 starts an access control process.

[0052] The access control unit 130 of the information management control device 100 acquires attribute information of the accessed content data and identifies the operation performed by the user (step S1). Specifically, when the user double-clicks the content data to view the content data, the access control unit 130 acquires the attribute information assigned to the content data, such as "data source," "data type," "data use," and "confidentiality level," from the storage 140. Next, the access control unit 130 identifies the operation as "viewing" from the user's double-click operation.

[0053] Next, the access control unit 130 identifies the custom role assigned to the user and acquires the authority set for the identified custom role (step S2). Specifically, the access control unit 130 identifies the custom role assigned to the user by referring to the assignment information shown in Fig. 9. If the user ID of the accessing user is "A0001", the access control unit 130 identifies that the custom roles "role A1" and "role B2" are assigned to this user.

[0054] Next, the access control unit 130 refers to the role definition table shown in FIG. 6 and acquires the access privileges of "role A1" and "role B2." The access control unit 130 reads the source parameters and privilege parameters defined for each custom role. As the access privileges for "role A1," the access control unit 130 acquires that the attributes of the accessible content data are "data source" as "XX factory," "data type" as "standard format file," "data use" as "system management," "confidentiality level" as "A" or lower, and that the operations of "view, update, delete, and add" are possible. The access control unit 130 acquires the access privileges for "role B2" in the same way as for "role A1."

[0055] Returning to FIG. 12, the access control unit 130 next determines whether the user has permission to access the target content data (step S3). Specifically, the access control unit 130 determines whether the user has permission to access the target content data based on the attribute information of the content data acquired in step S1 and the source parameters of "Role A1" and "Role B2" acquired in step S2. The access control unit 130 determines whether the source parameters of "Role A1" and "Role B2" include the attribute information of "Data Source," "Data Type," "Data Use," and "Confidentiality Level" assigned to the content data. If the access control unit 130 determines that the attribute information is included (step S3; Yes), the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the access control unit 130 determines that the source parameters of "Role A1" and "Role B2" do not include the attribute information of "Data Source," "Data Type," "Data Use," and "Confidentiality Level" assigned to the content data (step S3; No), the access control unit 130 determines that the user does not have permission to access the content data, outputs an "Access Denied" message (step S6), and ends the process.

[0056] Returning to step S4, next, the access control unit 130 determines whether or not the user has operation authority for the operation content to be executed. Specifically, the access control unit 130 determines whether or not the operation content identified in step S1 is included in the authority parameters acquired in step S2. As shown in Fig. 6, the operation parameters for "role A1" and "role B2" are "view, update, delete, add," which includes the "view" identified in step S1. Therefore, the access control unit 130 determines that the user has operation authority for "view" (step S4; Yes), and executes the access process to view the target data (step S5).

[0057] On the other hand, if the access control unit 130 determines that the user does not have the operation authority for the operation content to be executed (step S4; No), it outputs a message saying "access not permitted" (step S6) and ends the process.

[0058] Returning to step S5, the access control unit 130 next determines whether or not the access to the target data has ended. Specifically, when the user performs an operation to close the target data, the access control unit 130 determines that the access to this target data has ended (step S7), and ends the access control process.

[0059] On the other hand, if the user performs another operation, such as adding information to the target data or deleting information, it is determined that access to the target data has not ended (step S7; No), and the process returns to step S4, where it is determined whether the user has the operation authority for the new operation content.

[0060] As described above, the information management control device 100 adds a "data source" to content data to identify the device 200 that generated the data, and creates a custom role in which access permissions including conditions related to the "data source" are set. The information management control device 100 assigns the custom role to users of a maintenance company authorized by the end-user company that is the information provider identified by the "data source." The information management control device 100 determines whether access is permitted based on the access permissions set for the assigned custom role and the attribute information assigned to the content data. This makes it possible to appropriately manage access permissions for information from various sources.

[0061] Furthermore, the information management control device 100 mutually shares the role definition information created by the end user company and the maintenance company. Therefore, for example, the maintenance company can use the role definition information created by the end user company for its own users to generate custom roles for the maintenance company, thereby realizing information management through access control with less effort.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0063] In the above embodiment, content data provided by an end-user company is shared with a maintenance company. However, this is not limited to this. Content data of a maintenance company may also be shared with the end-user company. In this case, the role generation unit 120 may set the end-user company as the destination and the maintenance company as the provider in the combination table of FIG. 3 . The role generation unit 120 may also hold a user table linking the user ID of the end-user company with the identification information of the end-user company and a source table linking the identification information of the data source with the identification information of the end-user company. In the role group management chart shown in FIG. 7 , custom roles of the end-user company may be set in the first role group indicating the custom role group of the information destination company, and custom roles of the maintenance company may be set in the second role group indicating the custom role group of the information source company. Furthermore, identification information identifying the maintenance company's factory, office, etc. may be assigned to the source parameters of the role definition table shown in FIG. 6 and to the "data source" attribute information of the content data.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the information management control system 1 is described as being used by a maintenance company that manufactures the device 200 and an end-user company that uses the device 200 manufactured by the maintenance company, but the combination of companies that use the system is not limited to this. For example, the combination may be a finished product manufacturer and a parts manufacturer, or a manufacturer and a system integrator that installs and maintains manufacturing equipment.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the content data stored in storage 140 is described as being related to device 200, such as operation data of device 200, output data from various sensors, drawing data of device 200, task history, maintenance history, parts master, manuals, etc. However, the content data is not limited to this. For example, data unrelated to maintenance of device 200, such as customer data, sales data, personnel data, marketing data, and quality control data, may also be stored.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the functions of the attribute management unit 110, role generation unit 120, and access control unit 130 provided in the information management control device 100 are executed by a single computer, but this is not limiting and each process may be executed by multiple computers. For example, the function of the attribute management unit 110 may be executed by an edge computer installed at a manufacturing site. Also, for example, the API 150 may have the function of the access control unit 130 and execute the access control process.

[0067] Furthermore, the information management control device 100 does not need to include the storage 140. The content data stored in the storage 140 may be collectively managed by a cloud server present on the network, and the attribute management unit 110 and the access control unit 130 may access the cloud server as needed to read and write information.

[0068] Furthermore, the functions of the information management control device 100 can be realized using a normal computer system, rather than a dedicated device. For example, a program for realizing each function of the information management control device 100 may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), and this program may be installed on a computer to configure a computer that can realize each of the above-mentioned functions.

[0069] Furthermore, when each function is realized by dividing the functions between the OS and the application, or by the OS and the application working together, only the application may be stored on the recording medium.

[0070] As long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure, it is possible to select and discard the configurations given in the above embodiments, or to change them to other configurations as appropriate.

[0071] Furthermore, various embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure are possible without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1 Information management control system, 100 Information management control device, 110 Attribute management section, 120 Role generation section, 130 Access control section, 140 Storage, 150 API, 200 Device, 300 Gateway, 400 Terminal, 500 Network, 600 Custom role creation screen, 700 Change parameter setting screen, 800 Input screen, 11 Processor, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 14 Memory section, 15 Input section, 16 Display section, 17 Communication section, 99 Internal bus.

Claims

1. An information management control device that manages content data including operation data of a device to be managed and controls access to the content data, an attribute information adding unit that adds attribute information including generation source information for identifying a device that generated the content data to each of the content data based on a preset rule; a role generating unit that generates role information including the generation source information of the content data and indicating a condition under which the content data is accessible; an allocation unit that identifies a provider of the content data based on association information that associates the origin information included in the role information generated by the role generation unit with a provider of the content data generated by a device identified by the origin information, and allocates the role information generated by the role generation unit to a user who is a recipient of the content data and is permitted by the identified provider; a determination unit that determines whether or not a user who has made a request to access the content data is permitted to access the content data based on the attribute information assigned to the content data and the condition of the role information assigned to the user; An information management control device comprising:

2. the role generation unit generates the role information of a plurality of providing sources for each of the providing sources; the assigning unit assigns each of the role information generated by the role generating unit to a plurality of users of the provision destinations based on combination information indicating an association between a provision source and a provision destination. The information management control device according to claim 1 .

3. the role generation unit generates the role information to be assigned to a source user of the content data and a destination user of the content data, and provides the role information assigned to the source user to the destination user based on a preset rule; The assignment unit assigns the role information provided to the destination user by the role generation unit to the destination user. The information management control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the role information includes an attribute condition defined by a combination of a plurality of attributes assigned to the content data that is allowed to be accessed; The information management control device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the role information includes operation authority indicating operation content that can be executed on the content data, the determination unit further determines whether or not the operation content of the user who has made the access request with respect to the content data is included in the operation authority of the role information assigned to the user, and when it is determined that the operation content is included, permits execution of the operation content with respect to the content data. The information management control device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The information management control device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a storage for storing the content data; a gateway that acquires the content data from a device to be managed and transmits the content data to the information management control device; An information management control system comprising:

7. generating role information including generation source information for identifying a device that generated the content data and indicating a condition under which the content data is accessible; Identifying a provider of the content data based on association information that associates the origin information included in the generated role information with a provider of the content data generated by a device identified by the origin information, and assigning the generated role information to a user of a recipient authorized by the identified provider; determining whether or not a user who has made a request to access the content data is permitted to access the content data based on attribute information including the generation source information assigned to the content data and the condition of the role information assigned to the user; An information management control method comprising:

8. A computer that manages content data including operation data of a device to be managed and controls access to the content data, generating role information including source information for identifying a device that generated the content data and indicating a condition under which the content data can be accessed; A process of identifying a provider of the content data based on association information that associates the generation origin information included in the generated role information with a provider of the content data generated by a device identified by the generation origin information, and assigning the generated role information to a user of a recipient authorized by the identified provider; a process of determining whether or not a user who has made a request to access the content data is permitted to access the content data based on attribute information including the generation source information assigned to the content data and the condition of the role information assigned to the user; A program that executes the following.

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