COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

• US 20100095119A1
• Filed: 10/06/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tachibana, Hideaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,954,746 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0841 involving Diffie-Hellman or related key agreement protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks

Abstract

A communication apparatus is provided that encrypts content data that is to be uploaded to a server by using a first encryption key used in a process for sharing a communication parameter for communicating with other communication apparatus via a wireless network or a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared in the sharing process. Consequently, the content data can be viewed only by a specific communication apparatus.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a sharing unit configured to share a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage unit configured to store at least one of (i) a first encryption key used by said sharing unit to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit;

an encryption unit configured to encrypt content data that is to be shared with the other communication apparatus using the first encryption key or the second encryption key stored in said storage unit; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the content data encrypted by said encryption unit to an external apparatus.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first determination unit configured to determine whether or not said communication apparatus is connected to the other communication apparatus via the wireless network configured using the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit,

wherein said encryption unit is further configured to switch between whether or not to encrypt the content data according to a result of a determination made by said first determination unit.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein said transmitting unit is further configured to transmit the content data to the other communication apparatus without encrypting the content data using said encryption unit when said first determination unit has determined that said communication apparatus is connected to the other communication apparatus via the wireless network, and to transmit the content data encrypted using said encryption unit to the external apparatus when the first determination unit has determined that said communication apparatus is not connected to the other communication apparatus via the wireless network.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit configured to determine whether or not a wireless network connection has already been established, using the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit, with the other communication apparatus with which the content data is to be shared,

wherein which of the first encryption key and the second encryption key is to be used for the encryption of the content data in said encryption unit is selected according to a result of a determination made by said determination unit.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second encryption key is an encryption key that is used to encrypt a wireless communication path of the wireless network configured using the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second encryption key is at least one of a session key that is used when transmitting to a single partner apparatus in a wireless network configured using the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit and a group key that is used when transmitting to a plurality of partner apparatuses.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the external apparatus is a server that is connected to an external network that is capable of communication via an access point.

8. A communication apparatus comprising:

a sharing unit configured to share a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage unit configured to store at least one of (i) a first encryption key used by said sharing unit to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared by said sharing unit;

a receiving unit configured to receive encrypted content data that is stored in an external apparatus; and

a decryption unit configured to decrypt the encrypted content data received by said receiving unit by using the first encryption key or the second encryption stored in said storage unit.

9. A method for a communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus comprises a processor and a memory storing a program executable by the processor and the program includes computer code for implementing said method, comprising:

a sharing step of sharing a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage step of storing at least one of (i) a first encryption key used in said sharing step to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared in said sharing step;

an encryption step of encrypting content data that is to be shared with the other communication apparatus using the first encryption key or the second encryption key stored in said storage step; and

a transmitting step of transmitting the content data encrypted in said encryption step to an external apparatus.

10. A method for a communication apparatus, wherein the communication apparatus comprises a processor and a memory storing a program executable by the processor and the program includes computer code for implementing said method, comprising:

a sharing step of sharing a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage step of storing at least one of (i) a first encryption key used in said sharing step to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared in said sharing step;

a receiving step of receiving encrypted content data that is stored in an external apparatus; and

a decryption step of decrypting the encrypted content data received in said receiving step using the first encryption key or the second encryption key stored in said storage step.

11. A computer-readable memory having stored thereon sequences of instructions which when executed by a communication apparatus cause the communication apparatus to execute a communication method, said method comprising:

a sharing step of sharing a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage step of storing at least one of (i) a first encryption key used in said sharing step to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared in said sharing step;

an encryption step of encrypting content data that is to be shared with the other communication apparatus using the first encryption key or the second encryption key stored in said storage step; and

a transmitting step of transmitting the content data encrypted in said encryption step to an external apparatus.

12. A computer-readable memory having stored thereon sequences of instructions which when executed by a communication apparatus cause the communication apparatus to execute a communication method, said method comprising:

a sharing step of sharing a communication parameter for communicating with another communication apparatus via a wireless network;

a storage step of storing at least one of (i) a first encryption key used in said sharing step to share the communication parameter and (ii) a second encryption key based on the communication parameter shared in said sharing step;

a receiving step of receiving encrypted content data that is stored in an external apparatus; and

a decryption step of decrypting the encrypted content data received in said receiving step using the first encryption key or the second encryption key stored in said storage step.