SECURE ACCESS OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS AND DATA FROM CLIENT TERMINAL

• US 20100095354A1
• Filed: 10/15/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Americas Corporation (Ricoh Company Limited), Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Americas Corporation (Ricoh Company Limited), Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Harrison, James, Uchida, Yuki, Yoon, Chin
• Granted Patent: US 9,209,975 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

An improved approach for secure access of electronic documents and data is provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus for secure access of electronic data corresponding to electronic documents in a document database, said apparatus comprising:

a document request part configured to transmit user credential information and transmit a document retrieval request through a network to a management service; and

an authorization processing part configured to receive from said management service, if said user credential information is authenticated by said management service, an authorization key and a pointer indicating a physical address of a requested document in said document database, and automatically transmit to a database management part, user authentication information, said pointer, said authorization key and a specified request to retrieve the requested document,

wherein said database management part compares the user authentication information and the authorization key with access credentials associated with the requested document, and if the specified request to retrieve the requested document is authenticated based on the comparison, said database management part retrieves from said document database the requested document indicated by the pointer and transmits the retrieved document to said document request part.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a data monitor part configured to monitor for access events of accesses of electronic documents in said document database, wherein when said data monitor part detects an access of a specific document in said document database, the data monitor part captures access event metadata corresponding to the access of the specific document and transmits the access event metadata through the network to the management service.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the access event metadata corresponding to the access of the specific document and transmitted by said data monitor part to the management service includes a hyperlink to the specific document.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface configured for user entry of the user credential information and for user entry of a search request, wherein said document request part transmits the user credential information and the search request to the management service.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said document request part receives from the management service search results for the search request from the document request part, and forwards the search request results to the user interface for display to the user.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said document request part forms said document retrieval request, based on user selection of one or more documents in said search results through said user interface.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said user authentication information transmitted by said authorization processing part to said database management part is based on the user credential information received through the user interface.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said document request part outputs the retrieved document through a user interface.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said database management part allows access to the requested document only when the user authentication information and the authorization key match the access credentials associated with the requested document.

10. A system for secure access of electronic data, said system comprising:

a document database and a database management part configured to process requests to retrieve electronic documents from said document database;

a management service configured to receive user credential information and receive a document retrieval request through a network, perform user authentication by using the user credential information, and if said user credential information was authenticated, transmit, in response to said document retrieval request, an authorization key and a pointer indicating a physical address of a requested document in said document database;

a user terminal including

a document request part configured to transmit said user credential information and said document retrieval request through said network to said management service, and

an authorization processing part configured to intercept said authorization key and said pointer from said management service, and automatically transmit to said database management part a specified request to retrieve the requested document, said specified request including user authentication information, said pointer and said authorization key,

wherein said database management part compares the user authentication information and the authorization key with access credentials associated with the requested document, and if the specified request to retrieve the requested document is authenticated based on the comparison, said database management part retrieves from said document database the requested document indicated by the pointer and transmits the retrieved document to said document request part.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said management service maintains searchable metadata corresponding to properties of the electronic documents stored in said document database.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the management service receives access event metadata corresponding to access of a specific document in said document database and updates, based on the access event metadata corresponding to the access of the specific document, a metadata record maintained for the specific document.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the access event metadata corresponding to the access of the specific document includes a hyperlink to the specific document after the access.

14. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said user terminal is configured with a user interface for user entry of the user credential information and for user entry of a search request, and said document request part transmits the user credential information and the search request to the management service.

15. The system as claimed in claim 14, wherein when said management service receives the search request and the user credential information from said document request part, said management service performs user authentication and if said user credential information is authenticated, said management service searches, based on said search request, the metadata maintained for the electronic documents stored in said document database and transmits search results to the document request part.

16. The system as claimed in claim 15, wherein when said management service receives said document retrieval request, transmitted by said document request part based on user selection of one or more documents from said search results, said management service generates the authorization key for accessing the selected document and generates the pointer based on a hyperlink maintained in the metadata for the selected document.

17. A method for secure access of electronic data, said method comprising the steps of;

(a) maintaining searchable metadata for electronic documents in a document database, as a management service accessible from terminals through a network;

(b) receiving user credential information from a user terminal through said network and performing user authentication by using the user credential information from the user terminal;

(c) receiving a search request from the user terminal through said network, and if the user credential information is authenticated in (b), searching the metadata maintained for the electronic documents stored in the document database, based on the search request, and transmitting search results to the user terminal;

(d) receives a document retrieval request from the user terminal based on user selection of one or more documents from said search results, and if the user credential information is authenticated in (b), transmitting an authorization key and a pointer indicating a physical address of a requested document in said document database to the user terminal through the network,

wherein access to the requested document in the document data base is allowed only when user authentication information and the authorization key match the access credentials associated with the requested document.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:

receiving access event metadata corresponding to access of a specific document in said document database; and

updating, based on the access event metadata corresponding to the access of the specific document, a metadata record maintained for the specific document.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:

maintaining for each electronic document in the document database location metadata including a hyperlink to a location of the electronic document in the document database.

20. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the metadata maintained in (a) for an electronic document in the document database corresponds to properties of the electronic document in the document database.