Audit Log Transmission Control in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional multifunction peripherals (MFPs) may delete audit logs without transmitting them to external servers, leading to a possibility that these logs are not accumulated or stored in external servers, which can compromise security auditing and information leakage detection.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus is equipped with a processor that enables or disables automatic transmission and deletion functions for audit logs, ensuring that logs are transmitted to external apparatuses and preventing deletion once automatic transmission is enabled, thereby ensuring logs are stored externally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the deletion function is enabled to allow users to delete audit logs, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability of log accumulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The deletion function dynamically changes its state based on the automatic transmission function setting. When automatic transmission is enabled, deletion is disabled; when automatic transmission is disabled, deletion is enabled. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by adapting system behavior to operational context.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback by monitoring the state of the automatic transmission function and automatically adjusting the availability of the deletion function accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that deletion is only permitted when logs are not being automatically transmitted, thus maintaining reliability while preserving user control when appropriate.
2Reliability
If the automatic transmission function is enabled to transmit audit logs to external servers, then security auditing is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image forming apparatus integrates multiple functions (printing, scanning, copying, and audit log management) into a single device. The automatic transmission function leverages existing network communication capabilities of the multifunction device, avoiding the need for separate dedicated hardware and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The audit log transmission function is merged with the existing network communication infrastructure of the multifunction apparatus. By combining log transmission with the device's standard network capabilities, the patent avoids adding separate transmission hardware or protocols, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity while achieving reliable security auditing.
3Quantity of substance
If audit logs are deleted locally before transmission, then storage space is improved, but loss of information occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary transmission of audit logs to external servers before allowing any deletion to occur. By ensuring logs are transmitted first and confirming successful receipt, the system prevents information loss while subsequently freeing up local storage space. This preliminary action sequence resolves the contradiction between storage management and information preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by preventing deletion operations until transmission is confirmed complete. The deletion function is specifically disabled when automatic transmission is enabled, creating a protective barrier against premature deletion that would cause information loss. This preliminary protection ensures information integrity before storage space management occurs.
Data Source
AI summary
In a case where the automatic transfer of an audit log from an image forming apparatus to an external apparatus is set to enabled, the function of deleting the transmitted audit log transmitted based on a user operation is disabled.