JP2004320398A - Electronic commerce method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of reception confirming messages without deterioration of security to prevent denial, and also to prevent non-useful exchange of the reception confirming messages when a business transaction has failed. <P>SOLUTION: A signaturing side and a signature requesting side respectively store the business documents transmitted and received from the start of the transactions. The signaturing side system completely generates, when the transaction is completed, the signatures for total business documents stored until the end of transaction from the start thereof, and transmits the electronic signatures to the signature requesting side system. The signature requesting side system completely verifies legitimacy of electronic signatures received from the signaturing side system based on the stored business documents as a whole. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic commerce method and system for exchanging secure business documents using a computer and a network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general business-to-business electronic commerce, it is essential to implement security requirements such as non-repudiation for each business document exchanged between trading companies. The non-repudiation described here is to prevent the sender of the business document from denying the fact that the document was transmitted (transmission non-repudiation) and prevent the recipient of the business document from denying the fact that the document was received ( Reception non-repudiation). As a method for satisfying the security requirements of non-repudiation, there is known a method of confirming the content of each business document exchanged between transaction parties by an electronic signature. A digital signature for the business document transmitted by the sender of the business document is generated and transmitted together with the business document, thereby realizing transmission non-repudiation prevention. In addition, the recipient of the business document generates an acknowledgment message containing the hash value of the received business document, signs the acknowledgment message, and replies to the sender of the business document to prevent non-repudiation I do. An example of this method is the ebXML specification, which is a standard specification for inter-company electronic commerce (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).
[0003]
Further, in a business-to-business e-commerce transaction, one transaction may be constituted by the exchange of one or more business documents. In order to realize such a transaction, it is necessary to manage the business division (business transaction) of the transaction. Generally, a method of exchanging control messages at the start and end of a transaction is known. Further, if necessary, a business transaction may be canceled by exchanging a transaction cancellation control message during the course of a transaction (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0004]
Also, a method is known in which a plurality of documents are to be signed and one signature is generated. As an example of this method, there is an XML electronic signature specified in RFC (Request for Comments) No. 3075 issued by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is a standardization organization of the Internet technology. In the XML digital signature, when an identifier (document ID) capable of identifying a document exists for each document, a set of one or more documents can be subjected to signature processing. That is, a method of designating a set of one or more documents and generating a signature for the set is specified. Similarly, a method of designating a signature and a set of one or more documents corresponding to the signature and verifying the signature is defined (for example, see Non-Patent Document 2). The aforementioned ebXML specification also specifies a method of combining a plurality of documents into the same message when transmitting a plurality of documents simultaneously, for example, when transmitting a catalog document and image data. In this case, an XML digital signature is used as a signature method, and one signature is generated for a plurality of combined documents.
[0005]
[Non-patent document 1]
Hisao Sugatani and Katsuhiro Morita, "Overview of ebXML Technology", Soft Research Center, Inc., pp186-189, (2001)
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-338185 A [Non-Patent Document 2]
Mark Bartel, John Boyer, Barb Fox, Brian LaMacchia, Ed Simon: Joint W3C / IETF XML-Signature Signature and Processing Specifi cations, Recognition and Recognition.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In Patent Document 1 of the prior art, no special consideration regarding security is made. Further, the XML electronic signature does not specify a business transaction. For this reason, in the related art, there is a problem that a signature method such as an XML digital signature is not efficient when performing inter-company electronic commerce by a business transaction. That is, as defined in the ebXML specification, there is a problem in that signature processing for transmission non-repudiation and reception non-repudiation increases in proportion to the number of times of transmission and reception of business documents, regardless of the business transaction. In addition, there is a problem in that the number of receipt confirmation messages for preventing non-repudiation of reception increases in proportion to the number of transmissions of the business document. Further, when the business transaction is canceled in the middle of the process, there is a problem that the receipt confirmation message exchanged with the signature processing performed up to that point is wasted.
[0007]
It is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of signature processings and the number of acknowledgment messages without compromising the security requirements of non-repudiation in commercial transactions. It is another object of the present invention not to exchange signature processing and acknowledgment messages that would be wasted if a business transaction were canceled without compromising the non-repudiation security requirements of the commercial transaction.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Whereas the signature processing of the related art is grouped only for each transmission, the present invention collectively performs the signature processing for each business transaction. For this reason, in the present invention, non-repudiation is realized by performing signature processing in units of business transactions instead of performing signature processing and exchange of acknowledgment messages, which are performed every time business documents are exchanged.
[0009]
First, the signing side system and the signature requesting side system store the business document transmitted and received from the transaction start point in association with the identifier (transaction ID) for identifying the transaction.
[0010]
After the transaction is completed, the signing side system acquires a business document based on the transaction ID. This means that a set of business documents to be signed is determined from the set of all stored business documents. Next, a signature for the acquired set of business documents is generated. This is performed by a method such as an XML digital signature shown in the related art. This means that signatures have been generated for all business documents belonging to the transaction. In other words, this signature is a signature for the business document transmitted by the signing system (transmission non-repudiation) and a signature for the business document received by the signing system (reception non-repudiation). The signing system sends the generated signature to the signature requesting system.
[0011]
Similarly, the signature requesting system determines a set of business documents to be signed by acquiring a business document based on the transaction ID. The signature requesting system collectively verifies the validity of the signature received from the signing system based on the acquired set of business documents.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the present invention is applied to electronic commerce by a signature side system / signature request side system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the signature requesting system according to the present invention. 3, 4, and 5 show tables managed by the system. FIG. 6 is an example of a business document to be signed in the present invention. FIG. 7 is an example of a digital signature generated in the present invention. 8 and 9 are more detailed flowcharts for FIG.
[0014]
In FIG. 2, the signature requesting system 11 performs electronic commerce with the signature system 25 via a network such as the Internet. The system on the signing side is the same as the system on the signing side. The system includes a business process 12, a message management 13, a transaction management 14, an electronic signature generation / verification 15, a collective signature management 16, and a definition information table 19, a transaction table 20, and an auxiliary storage device 18 for recording a business document table 21, And a communication device 22.
[0015]
The business process 12 performs a business based on the business document, and transmits / receives the business document via the message management 13.
[0016]
The transaction management 14 acquires the transaction start / end timing from the definition information table 19. After the transaction starts, the message management 13 stores the transmitted / received business document in the auxiliary storage device 18 and passes the business document to the business process 12.
[0017]
The collective signature management 16 starts collective signature processing based on the timing of the transaction end. The collective signature management 16 searches the business document table 21 for a business document corresponding to the transaction ID, and determines a set of business documents to be subjected to signature processing.
[0018]
The digital signature generation / verification 15 generates and verifies the XML digital signature shown in the conventional example. As an input, a set of business documents is received from the collective signature management 16, an XML digital signature for the set is generated, and the collective signature management 16 is returned. Further, it receives a set of business documents and an XML digital signature from the collective signature management 16 as input, verifies whether the signature is valid, and returns a verification result to the collective signature management 16.
[0019]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the definition information table 19, in which items of a definition ID 200, a step ID 201, an element type 202, and a next step 203 are provided. The transaction management 14 acquires the element type and the next step based on the definition ID and the step ID.
[0020]
FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the transaction table 20, in which items of a transaction ID 210, a definition ID 211, a step 212, and a state 213 are provided. The transaction management 14 specifies the corresponding transaction based on the transaction ID and the definition ID, and acquires and updates the step and status. After completing the processing in the corresponding step, the transaction management 14 advances the step to the next and updates the table. At the end of the transaction, the status is updated to commit or cancel.
[0021]
FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the business document table 21, in which items of document ID 220, transaction ID 221 and content 222 are provided. The collective signature management 15 acquires the contents of the business document to be collectively signed based on the transaction ID.
[0022]
FIG. 6 shows an example of a business document to be exchanged. The business document has a document ID 302 as an identifier capable of uniquely identifying the document in addition to the transaction content 303. Also, the business document has a transaction ID 301 as an identifier for identifying to which transaction the business document belongs.
[0023]
FIG. 7 schematically shows an electronic signature created in accordance with an XML electronic signature as an example of an electronic signature. Note that the digital signature scheme is not limited to the XML digital signature scheme, and other signature schemes may be used. As shown in the conventional example, in the XML digital signature, a plurality of documents can be included in the signature target. In the XML digital signature, an identifier representing a document to be signed and a hash value thereof are generated, and a signature value is generated for the set. In this example, signatures are given to the document IDs 353 and 356 of the exchanged business documents and the hash values 354 and 357 obtained by compressing the business documents indicated by the identifiers using a hash function. The signature for the two signature targets 352, 355 is the signature value 358. There is a transaction ID 351 indicating which transaction this signature is for.
[0024]
Next, the operation of each unit will be described based on the flow of FIG. The signature requesting system 11 starts a business transaction based on the definition information (step 101).
[0025]
FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart of step 101.
[0026]
The message management of the signature requesting system 11 acquires the document ID and the transaction ID from the business document (step 121). The transaction management 13 acquires information corresponding to the transaction ID from the transaction table 20 (Step 122). If there is no data corresponding to the transaction, the transaction management 14 determines a unique transaction ID and adds the next step of the definition information table 19 to the transaction table 20 as a step value (step 124). Next, the transaction management 13 acquires definition information from the definition information 19 based on the definition information ID and the step ID (step 125). If the element type of the definition information is “transaction start”, the message management starts saving the business document (step 127).
[0027]
The message management 13 stores the business document in the business document table 21 in association with the transaction ID (step 102). By storing the message in association with the transaction ID, the collective signature can be performed in the steps described later.
[0028]
FIG. 9 is a detailed flowchart of step 102. After storing the business document (step 131), the transaction management 14 updates the step corresponding to the transaction ID in the transaction table 20 (step 132). The transaction management 14 acquires the definition information from the definition information table 19 based on the specified definition ID and the next step (step 133). If the element type of the acquired definition information indicates that the transaction is completed and the own system is the signing side system, a collective signature process is performed. If the element type is other than the end of the transaction, or if the system is the signature requesting system, the process ends (step 134).
[0029]
After storage, the business document 300 is transmitted from the signature requesting system 11 to the signature side system 25 (step 103). In the signing side system 25 which is the receiving side of the business document, the storage of the business document is started based on the definition information as in the case of the signature requesting side (step 101). The message management 13 receives the business document (step 104). The received business document is stored in the signing system in the same manner as in the signature requesting system (step 102).
[0030]
One transmission / reception of the business document has been completed in steps 100 to 104 described above. The transmission and reception of the business document may be transmitted from either the signer side system or the signer side system. Each may be performed several times.
[0031]
In step 134, if the element type of the definition information acquired from the definition information table 19 is transaction end, a collective signature process is started (step 105). The collective signature management 16 acquires all business documents corresponding to the transaction ID from the business document table 21 (step 106). The acquired set of business documents is passed to the digital signature generation / verification 15 as a signature target. The digital signature generation / verification 15 generates a signature for the given document set to be signed (step 107). FIG. 7 shows a case where two documents are exchanged. Thus, the signature of the business document exchanged in steps 101 to 104 is generated. The generated electronic signature is transmitted to the signature requesting system 11 (step 108). At this time, since the signature requesting system 11 also stores the business document, the signature target business document is not required. Instead, a transaction ID 351 for identifying the transaction to be signed is set in the signature 350 and sent.
[0032]
In FIG. 1, upon receiving the signature, the collective signature management 16 of the signature requesting system 11 collectively verifies the signature based on the stored document (step 109). The message management obtains the document ID and the transaction ID from the business document, and based on them, the collective signature management 16 obtains all the business documents corresponding to the transaction ID from the business document table 21. (Step 110). The collective signature management 16 passes the received electronic signature and the set of the acquired business documents to the electronic signature generation / verification 15. The electronic signature generation / verification 15 sets the passed set of business documents as a signature target and verifies the passed signature based on the set of business documents. (Step 111). The verification procedure follows a conventionally known signature verification method. For example, in the case of the XML digital signature of FIG. 7 shown in the conventional example, it is verified that the signature value 358 is a correct signature of the signature targets 352 and 355. Further, it verifies that the set of the document IDs 353 and 356 of the business documents and their hash values 354 and 357 are the same as the documents in the set of the specified business documents. In the case of the present invention, verification is performed based on a sentence specified by the collective signature management 16. That is, the verification of the hash value is performed by verifying that the hash value of the text specified by the collective signature management 16 is equal to the hash value associated with the identifier in the signature.
[0033]
The collective signature management 16 determines the verification result (step 112). If the verification result is correct, the collective signature management 16 requests the transaction management 14 to commit the business transaction (step 113). If the verification result is correct, the signature requesting system has been able to prevent the signature system from being repudiated. If the verification result is incorrect, the collective signature management 16 requests the transaction management 14 to cancel the business transaction (step 114).
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the number of acknowledgment messages can be reduced to just one immediately before the conclusion of a business transaction without impairing the security requirements for non-repudiation in business-to-business transactions. Further, since the acknowledgment message is not exchanged until the last stage of the business transaction, there is no useless acknowledgment message when the business transaction is canceled.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a processing procedure of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of a signature requesting system and a signature side system according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a definition information table according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a transaction table according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a business document table according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a list diagram of business documents according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a list view of a signature according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart of step 101 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a detailed flowchart of step 102 in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
10: Internet, 11: Signature requesting system, 12: Business system, 13: Message management, 14: Transaction management, 15: Electronic signature generation / verification, 16: Batch signature management, 19: Definition information table, 21: Business document Table 25: Signing system

Claims (7)

When the signing system and the signing requesting system are connected via a network, and the signing system and the signing requesting system exchange a plurality of business documents in any order from the start of the transaction to the end of the transaction,
The signing system and the signing requesting system store the business documents sent and received since the transaction began,
The signing system collectively generates a signature for a set of all business documents stored from the start time to the end time of the transaction when the transaction is completed,
The signing system sends the electronic signature to the signature requesting system,
An electronic commerce transaction wherein the signature requesting system collectively verifies the validity of the electronic signature received from the signing system based on a set of all business documents stored from the start to the end of the transaction. Method. In the electronic commerce method,
The signing system and the signing requester store the business document in association with an identifier that identifies the transaction,
The signing system determines a document to be signed based on the identifier,
2. The electronic commerce method according to claim 1, wherein the signature requesting system determines a document to be subjected to signature verification based on the identifier. In the electronic commerce method,
The signing side system and the signature requesting side system have definition information that defines transaction start timing and transaction end timing,
The signing system and the signature requesting system start storing business documents to be transmitted and received based on the definition information,
3. The electronic commerce method according to claim 2, wherein the signing side system starts generating an electronic signature based on the definition information. In the electronic commerce method,
4. The electronic commerce method according to claim 3, wherein both the signing side system and the signature requesting side are the signing side and the signature requesting side. Means for sending and receiving business documents in any order between a trading partner system connected via a network and a trading start time to a trading end time,
Means for storing business documents sent to and received from the counterparty system between the time of transaction start and the time of transaction end;
Means for collectively generating and verifying an electronic signature for the entire stored business document. In the electronic commerce system,
Means for storing the business document in association with an identifier identifying the transaction;
Means for determining a document to be signed based on the identifier;
6. An electronic commerce system according to claim 5, further comprising: means for determining a signature verification target document based on said identifier. In the electronic commerce system,
Means for holding definition information that defines transaction start timing and transaction end timing,
7. An electronic commerce system according to claim 6, further comprising: means for acquiring a timing of starting and ending a transaction from the definition information.

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