Patent Application
20230032507
This application is based upon and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 from Taiwan Patent Application No. 110127982 filed on Jul. 29, 2021, which is hereby specifically incorporated herein by this reference thereto.
The present invention relates to a technology for accessing encrypted files, and particularly to a method for accessing encrypted files through a stationary device.
Traditional physical confidential files can be manually managed to restrict only specific readers from being able to read them in specific places, so as to prevent readers from taking confidential files out of specific places. With the advancement of technology, more and more information is transmitted through electronic media. When the confidential files are transmitted in electronic form, the encryption can be used to restrict the viewers. For example, if an electronic confidential file is locked with a password, and the password is provided to a user who is authorized to view it, the user can use the password to unlock the electronic confidential file and read it; or the user must pass the identity authentication to unlock the electronic confidential file. However, this method only limits the identity of the reader, but not the location of the reader. Especially in today's society where portable electronic devices (such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and notebook computers) are becoming more and more popular, it is hard to guarantee that people have the right to read electronic confidential files in public areas through portable electronic devices. Then the contents of electronic confidential files may be leaked intentionally or unintentionally. For the protection of business secrets of enterprises and state secrets of the government, it undoubtedly increases management risks.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a stationary device with an encrypted file access function and an access method thereof to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
A stationary device with an encrypted file access function and access method thereof are provided. The portable electronic device sends an access request of an electronic confidential file to the stationary device through a proximal connection. The stationary device sends an access request to the cloud server through a remote connection. Then the cloud server gives the corresponding access commands and verification commands to the portable electronic device and the stationary device. After the stationary device verifies that the access command matches the verification command through the proximal connection, the portable electronic device is allowed to access the electronic confidential file. The portable electronic device and the stationary device constantly check whether they are still within a certain distance, so as to restrict the user from accessing the electronic confidential file only in specific areas. Thus, the business secrets and national defense secrets are effectively protected.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
With reference to
The portable electronic device 20 comprises a control unit 21, a first communication unit 22, and a second communication unit 23. The first communication unit 22 and the second communication unit 23 are electrically connected to the control unit 21. The first communication unit 22 is a near-end wireless communication unit with an effective communication range equal to or less than one meter, such as a near-field communication (NFC) unit. The second communication unit 23 is a remote communication unit with an effective communication range greater than one meter and may be a wireless communication unit, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication unit, Bluetooth unit, a second-generation (2G) wireless unit, a third-generation (3G) wireless unit, a fourth-generation (4G) wireless unit, or a fifth-generation (5G) wireless unit or other mobile communication protocols, etc.
The cloud server 30 comprises a control unit 31, a first communication unit 32, and a second communication unit 33. The first communication unit 32 and the second communication unit 33 are electrically connected to the control unit 31. In one embodiment, the first communication unit 32 and the second communication unit 33 are integrated into a single remote wireless communication unit with an effective communication range greater than one meter, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication unit, Bluetooth unit, a second-generation (2G) wireless unit, a third-generation (3G) wireless unit, a fourth-generation (4G) wireless unit, or a fifth-generation (5G) wireless unit or other mobile communication protocols, etc. In another embodiment, the first communication unit 32 is a remote communication unit with an effective communication range greater than one meter and may be a wireless communication unit, such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication unit, Bluetooth unit, a second-generation (2G) wireless unit, a third-generation (3G) wireless unit, a fourth-generation (4G) wireless unit, or a fifth-generation (5G) wireless unit or other mobile communication protocols, etc.
With reference to
With reference to
S21: Receiving an access request to an electronic confidential file from the portable electronic device 20 through the first communication unit 12;
S22: Transmitting an access request to the cloud server 30 through the second communication unit 13, wherein the access request may include the identification code of the electronic confidential file and the identification code of the portable electronic device 20 that made the access request;
S23: Receiving a verification command from the cloud server 30 through the second communication unit 13, and receiving an access command from the portable electronic device 20 through the first communication unit 12;
S24: Determining whether the access command matches the verification command, wherein the determination may be based on whether the passwords, keys or other signals for interactive verification of the access command and the verification command correspond to each other;
S25: If the access command matches the verification command, transmitting an access permission signal to the portable electronic device 20 through the first communication unit 12 to allow the portable electronic device 20 to access the electronic confidential file;
S26: If the access command does not match the verification command, denying transmitting the access permission signal to the portable electronic device 20;
S27: Determining whether the connection between the first communication unit 12 of the stationary device 10 and the first communication unit 22 of the portable electronic device 20 continues; If the connection between the first communication units 12 of the stationary device 10 and the first communication unit 22 of the portable electronic device 20 continues, then executing the step S25;
S28: If the connection between the first communication units 12 of the stationary device 10 and the first communication unit 22 of the portable electronic device 20 is interrupted, interrupting the transmission of the access permission signal to the portable electronic device 20, wherein the portable electronic device 20 cannot continue to access the electronic confidential file.
Furthermore, it is determined whether the portable electronic device 20 is far away from the stationary device 10 by checking whether the second communication unit 13 of the stationary device 10 and the second communication unit 23 of the portable electronic device 20 are still in the same environment. With reference to
In one embodiment, the second communication unit 13 of the stationary device 10 is a wireless communication unit, which is connected to the router through wireless signals. In another embodiment, the second communication unit 13 of the stationary device 10 is a wired communication unit, which is connected to a router through a physical line.
In conclusion, the present invention restricts the portable electronic device 20 to access the electronic confidential files through the near-end connection with the stationary device 10, so as to achieve the purpose of effectively restricting the places where the electronic confidential files can be read. After the portable electronic device 20 starts to read the electronic confidential files, the stationary device 10 continues to confirm whether the portable electronic device 20 maintains a near-end connection or whether it is equal to or less than the same or adjacent router connection range. Therefore, when the portable electronic device 20 has moved away from the stationary device 10 by a certain distance, the portable electronic device 20 can no longer access the electronic confidential files. It ensures that users can only access electronic confidential files in the restricted areas, thereby effectively managing business secrets or national defense secrets.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110127982 | Jul 2021 | TW | national |
