Electronic certificate issuance system, electronic certificate issuing device, communication device, and program therefor

• US 8,479,002 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2011
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Miyazawa, Masafumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Khoshnoodi, Nadia
• Application Number:
  US13/228,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320817A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/85 interconnection devices, e.g. bus-connected or in-line devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

An electronic certificate issuance system comprising at least one communication device, and an electronic certificate issuing device for issuing a set of an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate as a certification set for each of the at least one communication device, is provided. The electronic certificate issuing device includes a first connecting interface, an obtaining system, which is adapted to obtain a node ID assigned to each of the at least one communication device, a generating system, and a writing system. The at least one communication device includes a second connecting interface, a judging system, and an installing system.

Claims

1. An electronic certificate issuing device to issue an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate for each of a plurality of communication devices communicably connected to the electronic certificate issuing device, comprising:

a connecting interface, through which an external storage device can be removably connected to the electronic certificate issuing device;

an obtaining system configured to obtain information regarding a node ID assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices by requesting each of the plurality of communication devices for the node ID;

a generating system configured to generate a certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a node ID was obtained, where a certification set includes an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate, the electronic certificate including a node ID indicated in the information regarding the node ID of the communication device obtained by the obtaining system as owner ID information of the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate for the communication device; and

a writing system configured to collectively write a plurality of certification sets, one certificate set for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a node ID was obtained into the external storage device connected to the first connecting interface in a batch.

2. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a file creating system to create a plurality of data files, each of which has a file name and contains a set of data representing the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate issued by the electronic certificate issuing device, for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a node ID was obtained,

wherein the file name of each of the data files is represented by the node ID as the owner ID information of the electronic certificate; and

wherein the writing system collectively writes the plurality of data files, each of which includes the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate, in a batch into the external storage device connected to the connecting interface.

3. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 2,

wherein the file creating system is configured to encrypt each of the plurality of data files.

4. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 2, wherein the electronic certificate issuing device is communicably connected with each of the plurality of communication devices through the network;

wherein the obtaining system obtains the node ID assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices and an encryption key generated in each of the plurality of communication devices to encrypt the data file through the network from each of the plurality of communication devices for which the electronic certificate is issued; and

wherein the file creating system encrypts each of the plurality of data files by using a corresponding encryption key obtained by the obtaining system from each of the plurality of communication devices having the node ID which is identical to the owner ID information of the electronic certificate to be contained in the encrypted data file.

5. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 1, wherein the generating system waits for a predetermined time after the obtaining system requests each of the plurality of communication devices to generate the electronic certificates.

6. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 1,

wherein the electronic certificate issuing devices is communicably connected to each of the plurality of communication devices through a network;

and

wherein the obtaining system obtains the node ID assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices by broadcasting a request for the node ID to each of the plurality of communication devices.

7. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a labeling system configured to assign an electronic label identifying the node ID included in the electronic certificate as the owner ID information of the electronic certificate for each of the collectively written plurality of certification sets generated by the generating system.

8. The electronic certificate issuance device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a file creating system configured to create a plurality of data files, each of which has a file name and contains a set of data representing the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate issued by the electronic certificate issuing device,

wherein the file name of the data file is represented by the node ID as the owner ID information of the electronic certificate; and

wherein the writing system is configured to collectively write the plurality of data files in a batch into the external storage device connected to the electronic certificate issuing device through the connecting interface.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage device comprising computer readable instructions for controlling a computer, having a connecting interface through which an external storage device is connected to the computer, to issue an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate for each of a plurality of communication devices, by executing steps of:

obtaining a node ID of the communication device for which the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate are issued by requesting each of the plurality of communication devices for the node ID;

generating a certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a node ID was obtained, the certification set including an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate, the electronic certificate including the obtained node ID of the communication device as owner ID information of the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate; and

writing collectively the generated certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a node ID was obtained into the external storage device connected to the computer through the connecting interface in a batch.

10. An electronic certificate issuing device to issue an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate for a communication device communicably connected to the electronic certificate issuing device, comprising:

a connecting interface, through which an external storage device can be removably connected to the electronic certificate issuing device;

an obtaining system configured to obtain a routable network address, which is to be assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices and to be included in the electronic certificate as an owner ID information;

a generating system configured to generate a certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices whom a routable network address was obtained, where a certification set includes an electronic certificate, a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate and configuration data, which contains an instruction for the communication device to set a routable network address for the communication device to the owner ID information contained in the electronic certificate; and

a writing system configured to collectively write a plurality of certification sets, one certificate set including the configuration data, the electronic certificate, and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate generated by the generating system for the each of the plurality of communication devices, into the external storage device connected to the connecting interface in a batch.

11. The electronic certificate issuing device according to claim 10,

wherein the obtaining system obtains the routable network address to be assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices from a configuration list file, in which communication configuration for each of the plurality of communication devices is described.

12. The electronic certificate issuing device according to claim 11,

wherein the configuration list file includes a plurality of records, each of which indicates the communication configuration to be set in each of the plurality of communication devices, and

wherein each of the plurality of records included in the configuration list file includes a node ID being the routable network address, a subnet mask, and a default gateway.

13. The electronic certificate issuing device according to claim 10, further comprising:

a file creating system configured to create a plurality of data files, each of which contains the certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices, the certification set including the electronic certificate, the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate and the configuration data, and

wherein the writing system collectively writes the plurality of data files in a batch into the external storage device connected to the connecting interface.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage device comprising computer readable instructions for controlling a computer, having a connecting interface through which an external storage device is connected to the computer, to issue an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate for each of a plurality of communication devices, by executing steps of:

obtaining node ID information indicating a routable network address to be assigned to each of the plurality of communication devices for which the electronic certificate and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate are issued, said electronic certificate including owner ID information, said owner ID information being set to said routable network address;

generating a certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices, one certification set including configuration data, an electronic certificate and a private key corresponding to the electronic certificate, said configuration data containing an instruction for the communication device to set a routable network address of the communication device to the owner ID information contained in the electronic certificate; and

writing, collectively, the generated certification sets, one certification set for each of the plurality of communication devices including the configuration data, the electronic certificate, and the private key corresponding to the electronic certificate generated for the communication device, into the external storage device connected to the communication device through the connecting interface in a batch.