US-12621394-B2 - Image processing apparatus with printing and scanning security, and control method for controlling an image processing apparatus

US12621394B2US 12621394 B2US12621394 B2US 12621394B2US-12621394-B2

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes one or more memories and one or more processors. The one or more processors and the one or more memories are configured to register a plurality of character string lists, select a character string list from the plurality of character string lists based on an attribute of a job, perform a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from the job and at least one of the character strings in the selected character string list, and control execution of the job based on a comparison result of the comparison process.

Inventors

Keishi ARAKI

Assignees

CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230925
Priority Date: 20220927

Claims (9)

1 . An image processing apparatus having a print function for printing an image of image data on a sheet and a transmission function for transmitting image data generated by scanning a document, the image processing apparatus comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors and the one or more memories are configured to: register a plurality of character string lists including a first character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and a second character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and different in at least one character string from the first character string list; receive a job; determine that the received job is a print job or a transmission job; perform, in a case where it is determined that the received job is the print job, a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from first image data instructed, in the print job, to be printed by the print function and the one or more character strings in the first character string list; prohibit to print an image of the first image data using the print function in a case where the text information extracted from the first image data includes at least one of the one or more character strings in the first character string list; perform, in a case where it is determined that the received job is the transmission job, a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from second image data instructed, in the transmission job, to be transmitted by the transmission function and the one or more character strings in the second character string list; and prohibit to transmit the second image data using the transmission function in a case where the text information extracted from the second image data includes at least one of the one or more character strings in the second character string list.
2 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image processing apparatus has a setting for switching enabling and disabling of a censorship mode, and wherein in a case where the censorship mode is enabled by the setting, the one or more processors and the one or more memories are configured to perform the comparison process for comparing the text information extracted from the first image data and the one or more character strings in the first character string list and the comparison process for comparing the text information extracted from the second image data and the one or more character strings in the second character string list.
3 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: an interface configured to receive the print job including the first image data from an external apparatus.
4 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a printer configured to print the image on the sheet, the printer being used in the print function.
5 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a network interface configured to transmit the second image data, the network interface being used in the transmission function.
6 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second character string lists are registered by an administrator who manages the image processing apparatus, and wherein the first and second character string lists are registered in a state that a predetermined screen is displayed.
7 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors and the one or more memories are further configured to: print the image of the first image data using the print function in a case where the text information extracted from the first image data does not include the one or more character strings in the first character string list; and transmit the second image data using the transmission function in a case where the text information extracted from the second image data does not include the one or more character strings in the second character string list.
8 . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a display, wherein the one or more processors and the one or more memories are further configured to display a screen on the display, and wherein in a case where the one or more processors and the one or more memories prohibit to print or transmit, the one or more processors and the one or more memories display on the display a screen indicating that a job cannot be executed.
9 . A control method for controlling an image processing apparatus having a print function for printing an image of image data on a sheet and a transmission function for transmitting image data generated by scanning a document, the control method comprising: registering a plurality of character string lists including a first character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and a second character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and different in at least one character string from the first character string list; receiving a job; determining that the received job is a print job or a transmission job; performing, in a case where it is determined that the received job is the print job a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from first image data instructed, in the print job, to be printed by the print function and the one or more character strings in the first character string list; prohibiting to print an image of the first image data using the print function in a case where the text information extracted from the first image data includes at least one of the one or more character strings in the first character string list; performing, in a case where it is determined that the received job is the transmission job, a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from second image data instructed, in the transmission job, to be transmitted by the transmission function and the one or more character strings in the second character string list; prohibiting to transmit the second image data using the transmission function in a case where the text information extracted from the second image data includes at least one of the one or more character strings in the second character string list.

Description

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus and a control method for controlling an image processing apparatus. Description of the Related Art The installation locations of printing apparatuses and the environments of users of the printing apparatuses are diversified. Not only are the printing apparatuses accessed inside firewalls, but use methods in which the printing apparatuses are directly accessed from an external network, such as the Internet, increase as well. An attack on a printing apparatus by an improper operation of a malicious user and information leakage due to the loss of a printed document are issues, regardless of whether outside or inside a firewall. As one of security measures for a printing apparatus, the censorship of the content of a print document is known. The publication of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-49520 discusses a technique for, after a print instruction is given and before printing is executed, censoring whether a banned word registered in advance is present in print data. SUMMARY According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an image processing apparatus according to some embodiments includes one or more memories and one or more processors. The one or more processors and the one or more memories are configured to register a plurality of character string lists including a first character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and a second character string list composed of respective one or more character strings and different in at least one character string from the first character string list, in a case where a job is received, select a character string list from the plurality of character string lists based on an attribute of the job, perform a comparison process for comparing text information extracted from the job and at least one of the character strings in the selected character string list, and control execution of the job based on a comparison result of the comparison process. Further features of various embodiments will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an example of a system configuration diagram according to exemplary embodiments. FIG. 2 is an example of a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral according to the exemplary embodiments. FIG. 3 is an example of a software configuration diagram of the multifunction peripheral according to the exemplary embodiments. FIG. 4A is an example of a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing of a multifunction peripheral according to a first exemplary embodiment, FIG. 4B is an example of a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying a use location of the multifunction peripheral according to the first exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 4C is an example of a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying an authentication level of a user of the multifunction peripheral according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 5A is an example of a notification screen when a censorship error occurs, and FIG. 5B is an example of a notification screen when a censorship warning is displayed. FIG. 6 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a flow of a banned word registration process according to the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 7 is an example of a banned word setting screen. FIGS. 8A and 8B are an example of a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing of a multifunction peripheral according to a second exemplary embodiment. FIG. 9 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing of a multifunction peripheral according to a third exemplary embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS With reference to the drawings, exemplary embodiments will be described below. In the present exemplary embodiments, a multifunction peripheral (an image processing apparatus or a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP)) having a reservation print function is used as an example. The “reservation print function” refers to, for example, a function in which a print job sent from a personal computer (PC) is not immediately output from the multifunction peripheral, and is temporarily reserved in a hard disk drive (HDD) of the multifunction peripheral or an external storage device. However, generally, reservation printing is also used by a single-function peripheral (SFP), and therefore, the scope of application of the present disclosure is not limited to a multifunction peripheral. FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram according to a first exemplary embodiment. A multifunction peripheral 1000 having a print function for forming an image on a sheet can transmit and receive print data (also referred to as a “print job”), scanned image data, and management information regarding a device to and from another information processing apparatus via a network 100. The multifunction peripheral 1000 can also c