MFP Document Deletion Security via State Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multifunction peripherals (MFPs) lack effective security measures to prevent unauthorized deletion of stored fax documents, as current techniques do not adequately differentiate between authorized and unauthorized delete operations.
Innovation Solution
The MFP includes circuitry that determines the state of a stored document and copies it to a specific folder if deleted within a preset period or in an unread state, sending a notification to an administrator, thereby enhancing security against unauthorized deletions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fax-received documents are stored in distribution destination folders for each transmission source, then document management efficiency is improved, but security against unauthorized deletion is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by monitoring document states (read/unread) and tracking time periods before deletion occurs. It proactively identifies suspicious deletion patterns by checking whether documents were read within a preset time period before deletion, and takes preventive copying actions to the administrator folder before unauthorized deletion can complete, thus resolving the security vulnerability while maintaining efficient folder distribution management
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary mechanism - the administrator folder - that acts as a buffer between the distribution destination folders and permanent deletion. When suspicious deletion is detected (unread state or deletion within preset period after reading), the document is copied to this intermediary folder first, allowing administrators to review and verify whether deletion was authorized, thus preventing unauthorized deletion while preserving the efficient folder distribution structure
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing apparatus includes circuitry to, store, in a memory, received fax data as a stored document in a distribution destination folder corresponding to the fax data, in response to detection of a delete operation performed on the stored document, determine a state of the stored document to generate a first determination result, when the first determination result indicates that the stored document is in a read state, determine whether a period from a time at which the stored document was read to a time at which the delete operation was performed is within a preset period to generate a second determination result, and when the first determination result indicates that the stored document is in an unread state, or when the second determination result indicates that the period is within the preset period, copy the stored document to a specific folder and delete the stored document.