Communication Control Device for Secure Social Infrastructure Data

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Solution Overview

Problem

Social infrastructure devices, such as monitoring cameras, face challenges in maintaining data security due to the difficulty in frequently replacing equipment and the risk of insufficient security measures, especially since they often lack the resources for encryption processes.

Innovation Solution

A communication system with client-side and server-side communication control devices that encrypt and decrypt data using SSL/TLS protocols, leveraging IC cards for authentication and key management, allowing secure data transmission without requiring hardware changes to the existing devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If equipment such as monitoring cameras is installed as social infrastructure, then the system provides necessary monitoring functions, but security measures become insufficient due to difficulty in frequent replacement

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity of dataVSAvoidequipment replacement frequency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

A communication control device is introduced as an intermediary between the monitoring camera and the network. This mediator handles encryption and authentication processes, allowing the camera to maintain simple hardware while achieving secure communication through the intermediary's security mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces physical hardware replacement (mechanical solution) with software-based security management. Instead of replacing equipment to improve security, the system uses software modules for encryption and authentication that can be updated and managed without physical replacement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Reliability

If encryption processes are implemented in existing equipment, then data security is improved, but the equipment lacks necessary resources and requires hardware changes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata securityVSAvoidhardware configuration
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The communication control device serves as an intermediary that performs encryption and decryption operations. This allows existing equipment without encryption capabilities to achieve secure communication by offloading cryptographic operations to the intermediary device.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The communication control device provides multiple functions including encryption, decryption, authentication, and protocol management in a single universal device. This multi-functional approach allows existing specialized equipment to gain comprehensive security capabilities without hardware modification.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3917072B1Communication control device and communication system
Publication Date: 2024.02.28 KK TOSHIBA
  • EP3917072B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3917072B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3917072B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

According to an embodiment, a communication control device includes a controller and a memory. The controller transmits, using a common key determined by a mutual authentication process with a second communication control device connected between a second device and a network communication network using an issued secret key and a client certificate, to the second communication control device, information obtained by encrypting information transmitted from the first device to the second device, and transmits, to the first device, information obtained by decrypting information transmitted from the second device to the first device. The memory stores analysis information of a communication amount of data communication carried out via the communication interface. The controller executes a self-diagnosis at an execution time set based on the analysis information of the communication amount stored in the memory, and transmits, an execution result of the self-diagnosis to the device management server that collects information indicating an operation state.