Information Processing Apparatus for Automated Certificate Provisioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual process of adding, updating, and setting electronic certificates in multiple information processing apparatuses is burdensome and time-consuming, especially when dealing with many devices, leading to a significant workload for users.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus is equipped with a mechanism to automatically generate a public key pair, request and obtain an electronic certificate, and enable its use through an external apparatus, simplifying the certificate management process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual processes are used to add, update, and set electronic certificates in multiple information processing apparatuses, then certificate management can be performed with simple individual device configuration, but the workload and time required increases significantly when dealing with many devices
Solution Approach 1:
The information processing apparatus automatically performs certificate management tasks including generating public key pairs, creating certificate signing requests, and installing certificates without requiring manual user intervention for each device. The system self-services by autonomously completing the entire certificate provisioning workflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The external apparatus serves multiple functions: it acts as a certificate authority issuing certificates, a registration authority managing certificate requests, and a centralized management point for multiple information processing apparatuses. This universal system handles certificate operations across numerous devices through a single interface.
2Reliability
If manual certificate management is performed for each information processing apparatus, then individual device security can be maintained, but the administrative burden and complexity increases with the number of devices
Solution Approach 1:
The external apparatus acts as an intermediary between the certificate authority and multiple information processing apparatuses. It receives certificate signing requests from various devices, manages the issuance process, and distributes certificates, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining individual device security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple certificate management functions (certificate authority operations, registration authority operations, and device provisioning) into a single integrated external apparatus. This merging reduces administrative complexity by consolidating what would otherwise require separate manual processes for each device into one unified system.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus generates a public key pair in accordance with a certificate issuance request, generates a certificate signing request based on the public key pair and transmits an electronic certificate issuance request to an external apparatus. The information processing apparatus receives a response transmitted from the external apparatus as a response to the electronic certificate issuance request, obtains an electronic certificate included in the received response and causes an application to enable its use of the obtained electronic certificate.