Cloud Compliance for Image Forming Apparatuses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing on-premise policy-based compliance tools fail to monitor and secure cloud-connected image forming apparatuses, leading to security issues due to unattended documents, sensitive data processing, and misconfigured settings, as they do not account for devices connected directly to the internet.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based solution that generates a virtual device representation of the image forming apparatus, continuously monitors its configuration data against a stored security policy, and initiates remediation actions through a cloud platform to ensure compliance, using a compliance unit within a cloud server to reset misconfigured settings and maintain security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If on-premise policy-based compliance tools are used, then security compliance can be monitored for locally connected devices, but cloud-connected image forming apparatuses cannot be monitored or secured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud-based compliance service as an intermediary between on-premise compliance tools and cloud-connected image forming apparatuses. This service receives configuration data from devices via a gateway, evaluates compliance locally in the cloud, and sends remediation commands back to devices, enabling monitoring of cloud-connected devices without requiring on-premise infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the compliance evaluation capability from the on-premise dimension to the cloud dimension. By deploying compliance evaluation logic in the cloud environment rather than requiring local installation, the system can monitor devices regardless of their physical location or connectivity type, adding a new dimensional approach to compliance monitoring.
2Reliability
If cloud-based monitoring is implemented, then cloud-connected devices can be monitored, but continuous synchronization and evaluation require significant computational resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by having the gateway perform initial filtering and preprocessing of configuration data before sending it to the cloud-based compliance service. The service then focuses computational resources only on evaluating changes and deviations from compliance baselines, rather than continuously analyzing all device data, thus reducing overall computational resource requirements.
3Reliability
If configuration data is continuously monitored, then security issues can be detected early, but data transmission and processing increase network load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having the gateway and cloud-based service monitor configuration data at defined intervals rather than continuously. The system evaluates compliance periodically and only transmits data when changes are detected, reducing network load while maintaining effective security monitoring through regular checks.
Data Source
AI summary
In an example, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium may include instructions that when executed cause a computing device to generate a virtual device representation of an image forming apparatus on a cloud. Further, instructions cause the computing device to update the virtual device representation on the cloud with a configuration state of the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, instructions cause the computing device to analyze the updated virtual device representation to determine whether the image forming apparatus is compliant with a stored policy. Further, instructions cause the computing device to initiate, via the virtual device representation, a remediation action to bring the image forming apparatus to compliance based on the determination.