Email wrong transmission preventing apparatus and method

• US 20100235452A1
• Filed: 03/09/2010
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Social Science Laboratory Limited (Fujitsu Limited)
• Inventors: Kurashige, Kiyoshi, Katayama, Yoshinori, Hashisaka, Natsu, Okamoto, Masayoshi, Fukasawa, Ryota, Tsuda, Hiroshi, Kozakura, Fumihiko, Higashizono, Aya
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/23 Reliability checks, e.g. acknowledgments or fault reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases

Abstract

An email wrong transmission preventing apparatus calculates memory ratios of addresses of emails in a transmission log by a model expression in which the memory ratios decline over time, compiles the memory ratios of the emails for each destination to set weights, and records the weights in a user weight list. When receiving a planned outgoing email, the apparatus compares the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email obtained by referring to the user weight list with a predetermined threshold and determines that the destination is “reliable” only if the weight is over the threshold. If even one of the destinations of the planned outgoing email is not “reliable”, the apparatus causes a sender terminal to display an address check screen to prompt address checking. When “checked” is inputted, the apparatus transfers the planned outgoing email to an email transmission server.

Claims

1. An email wrong transmission preventing apparatus that prevents wrong transmission of email, the apparatus comprising:

an email storage unit that stores a planned outgoing email;

a transmission log storage unit that stores a transmission log including a sender, a destination, and a transmission date/time of a planned outgoing email transferred to a transmission server;

a user weight list generating unit that acquires the transmission log from the transmission log storage unit, uses an expression indicating a model in which values decline in accordance with tracking back in the transmission order from the latest in the process to calculate memory ratios of addresses of emails in the transmission log, and creates a user weight list recording values, which are obtained by compiling the calculated memory ratios for each destination, as weights of the destinations;

a user weight list storage unit that stores the user weight list;

an email receiving unit that acquires the planned outgoing email transmitted from a client and that holds the planned outgoing email in the email storage unit;

an address determination unit that refers to the user weight list, specifies the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email, compares the specified weight of the destination with a predetermined threshold, and determines that the destination is not reliable if the weight is equal to or smaller than the threshold;

an address checking unit that outputs information related to an address check of the planned outgoing email and that receives an input of “

checked”

for the destination if the address determination unit determines that the destination is not reliable;

an email transmitting unit that transfers the planned outgoing email to the transmission server after the address checking unit receives the input of “

checked”

; and

a transmission log acquisition unit that stores the transmission log of the transferred planned outgoing email in the transmission log storage unit.

2. The email wrong transmission preventing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a process control information storage unit that stores process control information including a data introduction period for designating a transmission date/time of the transmission log to be processed in the process of the user weight list generating unit, wherein

the user weight list generating unit acquires a transmission log with a transmission date/time that falls under the data introduction period from the transmission log storage unit, generates the expression of the declining model from the information of the process control information storage unit, and uses the generated expression to calculate memory ratios of addresses of emails in the acquired transmission log.

3. The email wrong transmission preventing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a risk information storage unit that stores risk setting information that is setting information of a process for calculating a risk related to information leakage, based on combinations of pieces of information included in an address, a text, an attached file, and a header of an email, wherein

the address determination unit calculates the risk of the planned outgoing email based on the risk setting information, uses the calculated risk to change the threshold, and compares the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email with the changed threshold.

4. The email wrong transmission preventing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a process control information setting unit that periodically acquires information of an external management server and that sets or updates the process control information stored in the process control information storage unit based on the acquired information.

5. An email wrong transmission prevention method executed by a computer, the computer comprising:

an email storage unit that stores a planned outgoing email;

a transmission log storage unit that stores a transmission log including a sender, a destination, and a transmission date/time of a planned outgoing email transferred to a transmission server; and

a user weight list storage unit that stores the user weight list, the email wrong transmission prevention method comprising;

a processing step of accessing the transmission log storage unit to acquire the transmission log;

a processing step of using an expression indicating a model in which values decline in accordance with tracking back in the transmission order from the latest in the process to calculate memory ratios of addresses of emails in the acquired transmission log, creating a user weight list recording values, which are obtained by compiling the calculated memory ratios for each destination, as weights of the destinations, and storing the user weight list in the user weight list storage unit;

a processing step of acquiring the planned outgoing email transmitted from a client and holding the planned outgoing email in the email storage unit;

a processing step of accessing the user weight list storage unit and acquiring the user weight list;

a processing step of referring to the acquired user weight list, specifying the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email, comparing the specified weight of the destination with a predetermined threshold, and determining that the destination is not reliable if the weight is equal to or smaller than the threshold;

a processing step of outputting information related to an address check of the planned outgoing email and receiving an input of “

checked”

for the destination if the destination is determined not reliable in the processing step of the address determination;

a processing step of transferring the planned outgoing email to the transmission server after the input of “

checked”

is received in the processing step of the address check; and

a processing step of storing the transmission log of the transferred planned outgoing email in the transmission log storage unit.

6. A computer readable recording medium recorded an email wrong transmission prevention program for executing a process of email wrong transmission prevention, the program causing a computer to function as:

an email storage unit that stores a planned outgoing email;

a transmission log storage unit that stores a transmission log including a sender, a destination, and a transmission date/time of a planned outgoing email transferred to a transmission server;

a user weight list generating unit that acquires the transmission log from the transmission log storage unit, uses an expression indicating a model in which values decline in accordance with tracking back in the transmission order from the latest in the process to calculate memory ratios of addresses of emails in the transmission log, and creates a user weight list recording values, which are obtained by compiling the calculated memory ratios for each destination, as weights of the destinations;

a user weight list storage unit that stores the user weight list;

an email receiving unit that acquires the planned outgoing email transmitted from a client and that holds the planned outgoing email in the email storage unit;

an address determination unit that refers to the user weight list, specifies the weight of the destination of the planned outgoing email, compares the specified weight of the destination with a predetermined threshold, and determines that the destination is not reliable if the weight is equal to or smaller than the threshold;

an address checking unit that outputs information related to an address check of the planned outgoing email and that receives an input of “

checked”

for the destination if the address determination unit determines that the destination is not reliable;

an email transmitting unit that transfers the planned outgoing email to the transmission server after the address checking unit receives the input of “

checked”

; and

a transmission log acquisition unit that stores the transmission log of the transferred planned outgoing email in the transmission log storage unit.