Patent Application
20080019519
The subject application is described with reference to certain figures, including:
The subject application is directed to a system and method for secure facsimile transmission. In particular, the subject application is directed to a system and method for the secure transmission of a facsimile wherein the facsimile data is encrypted. More particularly, the subject application is directed to a system and method for the secure transmission of a facsimile, which verifies that a selected user transmitted the document and only allows for the designated recipient or recipients to receive the facsimile.
Turning now to
The server 102 is communicatively coupled to a computer network 106 via a suitable communications link 108. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the computer network 106 is any distributed computing environment known in the art enabling the exchange of data between two or more electronic devices. A suitable computer network includes, but is not limited to, the public switched telephone network, a local area network, a wide area network, the Internet, a personal area network, or the like. Communication between the computer network 106 and the server 102 is advantageously accomplished via a communications link 108. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the communications link 108 employed in accordance with the subject application includes, WiMax, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11(x), Bluetooth, the public switched telephone network, a proprietary communications network, infrared, optical, or any other suitable wired or wireless data transmission communications known in the art.
The system 100 of
The system 100 also includes a recipient user B, associated with a receiving document processing device 114. Similar to the document processing device 110, the document processing device 114 is a multifunction peripheral device suitably adapted to provide a number of document processing services to the user B. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the document processing services include, for example and without limitation, copying, scanning, facsimile, printing, electronic mail generation, document storage, document management, and the like. The receiving document processing device 114 is in data communication with the computer network 106 via a suitable communications link 116. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the communications link 116 is any communications channel known in the art capable of establishing two-way communications between the computer network 106 and the document processing device 114. Examples of suitable communications links include, without limitation, WiMax, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11(x), Bluetooth, the public switched telephone network, a proprietary communications network, infrared, optical, or any other suitable wired or wireless data transmission communications known in the art. In the preferred embodiment of the subject application, the document processing device 114 further includes an associated user-interface, such as a touch-screen interface, LCD display, or the like, via which the associated user B is able to log onto the server 102 over the computer network 106.
In operation, when the user A desires to securely transmit a facsimile to a designated recipient, e.g., user B, the user A inserts the document to be faxed into the sending document processing device 110. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the document to be faxed to the recipient is capable of being in hardcopy form, such that it is scanned in accordance with standard scanning procedures, as known in the art, or alternatively present in electronic format as an attachment to an electronic message sent to the document processing device 110, or resident on a portable storage medium inserted into the sending document processing device 110. The user A then provides login information to the document processing device 110 in the form of a user identification and password combination. In one embodiment of the subject application, the user identification and password data is stored on a portable storage media, such as a smart card, or other portable memory device, capable of being read by the sending document processing device 110. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that prior to initiating any document processing operations, the users A and B have registered with the backend server 102, such that the backend server 102 contains, in the associated database 104, copies of the users' respective public and private encryption key pairs.
Once verified by the server 102, as established via the user identification information and password, user A designates a recipient for the facsimile transmission. The document processing device 110 then retrieves, from the server 102, user A's private encryption key and recipient user B's public encryption key. Preferably this retrieval is accomplished via a secure connection, as is known in the art, between the document processing device 110 and the server 102. The document to be faxed is then rendered, if necessary, into an electronic format. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, when in hardcopy format, the document is scanned by the document processing device so as to generate electronic image data representative of the document. The document is then encrypted by the document processing device 110 using user A's private key. The document processing device 110 then digitally signs the encrypted document via user A's private key and then encrypts the digitally signed encrypted document with the public key of user B. The encrypted digitally signed document is then transmitted, via facsimile, to user B at the receiving document processing device 114.
The receiving document processing device 114 receives the encrypted digitally signed document and places the document, i.e., the private fax job, into a queue of received fax jobs. When the private fax job reaches the head of the queue, the document processing device 114 transforms the job into a print-ready job via any means known in the art. The print-ready encrypted digitally signed document is then placed in a private job buffer associated with the receiving document processing device 114. A notification is then sent to user B informing the user that a private fax job has been received and is ready for output. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, suitable notification is capable of being accomplished via, for example and without limitation, pager, text message, electronic mail message, or the like.
User B, once physically present at the document processing device 114, logs onto the document processing device 114 in the same manner that user A logged onto the sending document processing device 110. Thus, user B provides, via the user-interface, user identification information and/or password, which is authenticated by the document processing device 114 via any suitable means, including, for example and without limitation, verification with the backend server 102. User B then releases the private fax job for output by the document processing device 114. The document processing device 114 then retrieves, from the server, user A's public encryption key and user B's private encryption key. Such retrieval, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, is accomplished via a secure communications connection established between the document processing device 114 and the backend server 102. The encrypted digitally signed document is then decrypted using the private key of user B to generate a digitally signed encrypted document. The digitally signed encrypted document is then decrypted using the public key of user A to generate a decrypted facsimile transmission, which is then output by the document processing device 114. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the preceding system allows user B to verify that the sender of the document was in fact user A, as only user A would have access to user A's private key. User A is thereafter assured that only user B will receive a non-encrypted version of the document because only user B would have access to user B's private key.
The foregoing system 100 will better be understood when interpreted in conjunction with the flowcharts illustrated in
When user A has been authenticated, flow proceeds to step 208, whereupon the document processing device 110 retrieves user information from the server 102. The skilled artisan will appreciate that the information retrieved at step 208 includes, for example and without limitation, an address book, a telephone book, electronic mail addressing, and the like. User A then selects the recipient, whereupon the recipient user information is retrieved from the server 102 at step 210. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that suitable recipient information includes, for example and without limitation, the facsimile number associated with the recipient, e.g., the facsimile number of the document processing device 114 associated with the recipient user B. The document processing device 110 then retrieves the sending user's private encryption key and the recipient user's public encryption key from the server 102 at step 212.
The sending document processing device 110 then scans the selected document at step 214 to generate electronic image data representative of the selected document. It will be appreciated that in the event the document to be transmitted to user B is already in electronic form, flow of the method described in
Attention now turns to
When it is determined at step 308 that the document has reached the head of the queue, flow proceeds to step 310, whereupon the image data is transformed into a print-ready job via any suitable means known in the art. The print ready document is then stored in a print-ready buffer at step 312, following which notification is sent to the designated recipient at step 314. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that suitable notification is advantageously transmitted to the recipient in the form of a text message, an electronic mail message, a page, or the like.
The document data remains in the print-ready queue until such time as the receiving user, user B, physically approaches the document processing device 114 and inputs his associated user identification and/or password at step 316. In the preferred embodiment, the login information is provided to the document processing device 114 by user B via the associated user-interface. The skilled artisan will appreciate that the user identification is a unique alpha-numeric designation associated with an individual user to which is associated a password. In an alternate embodiment, the login data is advantageously stored on a portable storage medium, such as a smart card, or the like, which is capable of being detected and read by the document processing device 114. In accordance with one aspect of the subject application, the user identification and password combination is suitably replaced with biometric data, such as retinal scan, fingerprint, or the like. In the event that the user identification and password supplied by user B are not authenticated by the document processing device 114, or the server 102, at step 318 the login is determined to have failed and the operation terminates.
When user B has been authenticated at step 318, flow proceeds to step 320, whereupon the user provides a facsimile release instruction to the document processing device 114, thereby indicating to the device 114 that a hardcopy output of the received private fax is desired. The document processing device 114 then retrieves the sending user's (user A's) public encryption key and the receiving user's (user B's) private encryption key from the server 102 at step 324. The encrypted digitally signed electronic data is then decrypted by the document processing device 114 at step 326 using the recipient's private key. This digitally signed encrypted document data is then decrypted by the document processing device 114 using the sending user's public encryption key at step 328. The document processing device 114 then generates a suitable hardcopy output of the faxed document at step 330.
The invention extends to computer programs in the form of source code, object code, code intermediate sources and object code (such as in a partially compiled form), or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the invention. Computer programs are suitably standalone applications, software components, scripts or plug-ins to other applications. Computer programs embedding the invention are advantageously embodied on a carrier, being any entity or device capable of carrying the computer program: for example, a storage medium such as ROM or RAM, optical recording media such as CD-ROM or magnetic recording media such as floppy discs. The carrier is any transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal conveyed by electrical or optical cable, or by radio or other means. Computer programs are suitably downloaded across the Internet from a server. Computer programs are also capable of being embedded in an integrated circuit. Any and all such embodiments containing code that will cause a computer to perform substantially the invention principles as described, will fall within the scope of the invention.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to use the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.
