Selective Authentication for Multifunction Peripheral Security
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Multifunction peripherals (MFPs) lack efficient authentication mechanisms, making them vulnerable to information security breaches when accessing web servers remotely without password authentication, and the small screen UI complicates password input, affecting usability.
Innovation Solution
A processing apparatus with an authentication unit that sets and performs authentication individually for local and remote functions, allowing users to choose password authentication settings based on the type of access, enabling secure and user-friendly operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If password authentication is always performed for both local and remote functions, then information security is improved, but usability deteriorates due to difficult password input on small screen UI
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication requirement by function type, applying password authentication only to remote functions while exempting local functions. This is achieved through the authentication determination unit (117) which determines whether authentication is necessary based on the request type, thereby resolving the contradiction between security and usability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different authentication policies to different locations/functions: remote functions (web server access) require password authentication for security, while local functions (main body UI operations) do not require authentication for ease of use. This localized quality approach allows each function type to have optimized authentication requirements.
2Reliability
If password authentication is enabled for remote function access, then information security is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple authentication settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single password (the administrator password of the MFP) for both local and remote function authentication when needed, rather than maintaining separate password systems. The authentication determination unit (117) and authentication unit (118) work together to apply this universal password approach selectively, reducing the complexity of authentication settings while maintaining security.
3Reliability
If authentication is performed for all access types, then security is improved, but setup time increases due to required password configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication requirement from the initial setup process for local functions, making password configuration unnecessary for basic local operations. The authentication determination unit (117) identifies that only remote functions require authentication, thereby removing the burden of password setup from the initial configuration while maintaining security for remote access.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a processing apparatus that authenticates a requestor in response to a request for performing predetermined processing. The processing apparatus executes the predetermined processing upon the authentication succeeding. Whether or not authentication is performed is set individually for each of the processing apparatus and an external apparatus of the processing apparatus that serve as the requestor. The authentication is performed in the case where authentication is set to be performed on the requestor that made the request.