Communication device

• US 20050235291A1
• Filed: 05/16/2003
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Kazuhiro, Kamiya, Dai, Sumi, Yutaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,818,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/556 involving covert channels, i.e. data leakage between processes inhibiting the analysis of circuitry or operation with measures against power attack G06F21/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2143 Clearing memory, e.g. to prevent the data from being stolen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2145 Inheriting rights or properties, e.g., propagation of permissions or restrictions within a hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading

Abstract

With regard to data, stored in mobile phone 40, whose a security level is high and contents whose copyrights are protected, mobile phone 40 encapsulates data and contents, and comprises the encapsulated data or the encapsulated contents. Further, mobile phone 40 processes the encapsulated data as a perfect encapsulated object utilizing only a method which is not authorized access to the encapsulated data by an executed program (E.g. Downloaded Java Applications). Java AP downloaded to mobile phone 40 instructs a perfect encapsulated object to process the encapsulated data in the perfect encapsulated object by using a method belonging to the perfect encapsulated object. Therefore, this invention makes it possible to ensure securities for programs to be provided through the network without losing diversifications of programs.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

a receiving means for receiving a program;

a specifying means for specifying data to be used from among data stored in the communication device when a program received by said receiving means is executed;

a first generation means for generating a perfect encapsulated object having a method which processes encapsulated data from an outside object, the object having the encapsulated data specified by said specifying means, and which denies access to said encapsulated data by said executed program received by said receiving means;

an access control means for restricting accessible resources, and prohibiting access to data specified by said specifying means from among data stored in the communication device, but authorizing access to said perfect encapsulated object generated by said first generation means when a program received by said receiving means is executed.

2. A communication device according to claim 1,

wherein said communication device comprises a second generation means for generating an imperfect encapsulated object having at least one or more than one method, the method which processes encapsulated data from an outside object, the object having the encapsulated data being specified by said specifying means, and which denies access to said encapsulated data by said executed program received by said receiving means;

a protection information storing means for storing protection information indicating whether data protection is necessary; and

a determination means for determining whether an object is generated by said first generation means or said second generation means, the object having said encapsulated data and a method for processing said encapsulated data, on the basis of said protection information stored in said protection information storing means.

3. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said determination means determines that an object is generated by said first generation means when said protection information indicates that said data protection is necessary, the protect information related to data specified by said specifying means, but determines that an object is generated by said second generation means when said protection information indicates that said data protection is not necessary

4. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said specifying means specifies data to be used from among data stored in the communication device at the time of executing said program received by said receiving means.

5. A communication device according to claim 4,

wherein said communication device further comprises a deleting means for deleting an object generated by said first generation means or said second generation means in accordance with termination of said program.

6. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said communication device comprises a security level storing means for storing information indicating a security level of data stored in the communication device;

and a control means for storing information indicating that data protection is necessary in the case a security level of data stored in said a security level storing means is high, and for storing information indicating that data protection is not necessary in the case a security level of data stored in said a security level storing means is low.

7. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said communication device further comprises a copyright information storing means for storing information indicating that data stored in the communication device is to be protected;

and a control means for storing information in said protection information storing means, the information indicating that data protection is necessary in the case that the information indicating data is to be protected is stored in said copyright information storing means, but for storing information in said protection information storing means, the information indicating data protection is not necessary in the case that information indicating data is not to be protected is stored in said copyright information storing means.

8. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said communication device further comprises a setting means for storing said protection information in said protection information storing means in accordance with instructions from users.

9. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said communication device further comprises a updating means for updating encapsulated data in an object generated by said generation means on the basis of facts that data specified by said specifying means is updated, the data among data stored in the communication device.

10. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein said program is a program written by a Java programming language, and the communication device comprises a Java execution environment for executing said program.

11. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein a method belonging to said perfect encapsulated object is the method for displaying character string data on a display unit of the communication device.

12. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein a method belonging to said perfect encapsulated object is the method for playing voice data in a playing unit of the communication device.

13. A communication device according to claim 2,

wherein a method belonging to said perfect encapsulated object is the method for displaying image data on a display unit of the communication device.