DEVICE MANAGEMENT APPARATUS, DEVICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND VERIFICATION METHOD

• US 20170171354A1
• Filed: 11/28/2016
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: ITOGAWA, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 10,225,372 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/572 Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A device management apparatus includes circuitry configured to: acquire an updating program for updating a device; transmit the updating program to the device; receive introduction success/failure information indicating whether the updating program is successfully introduced, from the device; acquire, if the introduction success/failure information indicates success in introduction, a verification program for verifying an operation of the device updated with the updating program; and verify whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed based on the verification program.

Claims

1. A device management apparatus comprising circuitry configured to:

acquire an updating program for updating a device;

transmit the updating program to the device;

receive introduction success/failure information indicating whether the updating program is successfully introduced, from the device;

acquire, if the introduction success/failure information indicates success in introduction, a verification program for verifying an operation of the device updated with the updating program; and

verify whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed based on the verification program.

2. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to reverify whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed based on the verification program, if verification result information indicating a verification result indicates that the operation of the updated device cannot be guaranteed.

3. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuity is further configured to request the device to interrupt power supply if verification result information indicating a verification result indicates that the operation of the updated device cannot be guaranteed.

4. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to retransmit the updating program to the device, if the introduction success/failure information indicates failure in introduction.

5. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to request the device to interrupt power supply if the introduction success/failure information indicates failure in introduction.

6. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to register verification result information indicating a verification result in a result information storage.

7. The device management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the circuitry is further configured to register the introduction success/failure information in the result information storage.

8. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the updating program is firmware for fixing a vulnerability,

the verification program is a program for verifying whether the vulnerability is fixed in the device updated with the updating program, and

the circuitry is configured to verify whether the vulnerability is fixed in the device based on the verification program, to verify whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed.

9. A device management system comprising:

a device management apparatus; and

a device,

the device management apparatus comprising circuitry configured to;

acquire an updating program for updating the device;

transmit the updating program to the device;

receive introduction success/failure information indicating whether the updating program is successfully introduced, from the device;

acquire a verification program for verifying an operation of the device updated with the updating program if the introduction success/failure information indicates success in introduction; and

verify whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed based on the verification program,

the device comprising circuitry configured to;

receive the updating program from the device management apparatus; and

transmit the introduction success/failure information to the device management apparatus.

10. A verification method executed in a device management system comprising a device management apparatus and a device, the verification method comprising:

by the device management apparatus,

acquiring an updating program for updating the device;

transmitting the updating program to the device;

receiving introduction success/failure information indicating whether the updating program is successfully introduced, from the device;

acquiring a verification program for verifying an operation of the device updated with the updating program if the introduction success/failure information indicates success in introduction;

verifying whether the operation of the updated device can be guaranteed based on the verification program, and

by the device,

receiving the updating program from the device management apparatus; and

transmitting the introduction success/failure information to the device management apparatus.