Secure Direct Wireless Printing With IAM Policy Enforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing imaging operations in secure environments require documents to be transmitted over the internet twice, which is inefficient and can be problematic due to slow or unreliable connections, and existing direct communication mechanisms lack security and management functionality.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a direct secure wireless connection between imaging devices and computing devices using identity and access management (IAM) services to authenticate and enforce policies, eliminating the need for double internet transmission and enabling secure, policy-enforced imaging operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If documents are transmitted over the internet to a print server for processing and then transmitted again to the imaging device, then imaging operations can be performed in secure environments with policy enforcement, but network bandwidth is consumed twice and the process becomes inefficient when internet connection is slow or unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authentication and policy enforcement functions from the document transmission path. By establishing a direct wireless connection between the computing device and imaging device, the document transmission is separated from the authentication process. The authentication credentials and security policies are pre-configured in the imaging device, allowing security verification to occur independently of internet connectivity during the actual imaging operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pre-configured authentication credentials and security policies as intermediaries that enable secure direct communication. Instead of requiring real-time internet authentication, the imaging device contains stored authentication information that acts as an intermediary mechanism to verify security and enforce policies locally, eliminating the need for double transmission through internet-based print servers.
2Productivity
If a direct communication mechanism is used between computing devices and imaging devices, then network bandwidth usage is reduced and imaging operations can proceed without internet connectivity, but security enforcement and policy management functionality are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring authentication credentials, digital certificates, and security policies directly in the imaging device before direct communication occurs. This advance preparation ensures that security verification and policy enforcement capabilities are already in place, allowing the imaging device to autonomously authenticate computing devices and enforce access policies without requiring real-time internet connectivity during the imaging operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging device is designed to self-authenticate and self-enforce security policies using pre-configured credentials and policies stored locally. The device independently verifies authentication credentials from computing devices and applies security rules without needing external authentication services, enabling secure direct communication while maintaining security and policy management functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
Technologies are disclosed for performing imaging operations via a direct secure wireless connection to an imaging device. An imaging device, such as a printer or scanner, obtains a signed certificate defining a security policy from an identity and access management (“IAM”) service. A computing device, such as a laptop or smartphone, obtains a signed certificate from the IAM service that defines access rights associated with the computing device. The imaging device and the computing device exchange the signed certificates. The imaging device approves or denies a request from the computing device to perform imaging operations by way of a direct secure wireless communication channel between the imaging device and the computing device based on the security policy and the access rights.