Patent Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to a communication technique for converging a 5G communication system for supporting a higher data rate beyond a 4G system with an IoT technology, and a system therefor. The present disclosure can be applied to intelligent services on the basis of a 5G communication technology and an IoT-related technology (for example, smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected car, healthcare, digital education, retail, security and safety-related service, and the like). The present invention provides a method for enhancing data security, comprising: when a request message including information related to a first privacy level is received from a user device, authenticating the user device; when the user device is an authenticated device as a result of the authentication, verifying the information related to the first privacy level; and when the verification of the information related to the first privacy level is completed, transmitting, to the user device, an image processed on the basis of the first privacy level among images processed on the basis of a plurality of privacy levels.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §365 and is a 371 National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2016/000550 filed Jan. 19, 2016, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0009275 filed Jan. 20, 2015, the disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference into the present disclosure as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for enhancing the security of personal information data transmitted/received over a communication network. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    To satisfy demands for wireless data traffic having increased since the commercialization of 4 th -Generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved 5 th  -Generation (5G) communication systems or pre-5G communication systems. For this reason, the 5G communication system or the pre-5G communication system is also called a beyond-4G-network communication system or a post-Long Term Evolution (LTE) system. 
         [0004]    To achieve a high data rate, implementation of the 5G communication system in an ultra-high frequency (mmWave) band (e.g., a 60 GHz band) is under consideration. In the 5G communication system, beamforming, massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO), full dimensional MEMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beamforming, and large-scale antenna technologies have been discussed to alleviate a propagation path loss and to increase a propagation distance in the ultra-high frequency band. 
         [0005]    For network improvement of the system, in the 5G communication system, techniques such as an evolved small cell, an advanced small cell, a cloud radio access network (RAN), an ultra-dense network, a device to device (D2D) communication, a wireless backhaul, a moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMPs), and interference cancellation have been developed. 
         [0006]    In the 5G system, advanced coding modulation (ACM) schemes including hybrid frequency-shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC), and advanced access schemes including filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) have been developed. 
         [0007]    Meanwhile, the Internet has evolved from the human-oriented connection network in which the humans create and consume information, into the Internet of things (IoT) network in which distributed components such as things (or objects) exchange information with each other, and process the information. Internet of everything (IoE) technology may be an example in which big data processing technology through connection with a cloud server is combined with the IoT technology. 
         [0008]    Since the technical elements such as sensing technology, wired/wireless communication &amp; network infrastructure, service interface technology and security technology are required to implement IoT, technologies such as sensor network for connection between things, machine-to-machine (M2M), and machine type communication (MTC) have been studied in recent years. 
         [0009]    In the LDT environment, an intelligent Internet technology (IT) service can be provided, that collects and analyzes the data created from connected things to create new value in human life. IoT may be applied to fields such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, healthcares, smart appliances, advanced medical services and the like, through convergence and combination between the existing IT technology and various industries. 
         [0010]    Accordingly, various attempts have been made to apply the 5G communication system to the IoT network. For example, the technologies such as sensor network, M2M and MTC may be implemented by the techniques such as beamforming, MIMO and array antenna of the 5G communication technologies. The cloud wireless access network being applied as the above-described big data processing technology may also be an example of the convergence between the 5G technology and the IoT technology. 
         [0011]    For IoT devices, wearable devices, electric-health (e-health) devices, smart home devices and the like, to which the 5G technology and the IoT technology are applied, each device may be connected to the Internet to provide more diverse and convenient services to users. 
         [0012]    Further, each device may transmit user&#39;s personal information, privacy-related information and the like over the communication network. However, since such information may be collected regardless of the user intent, and the collected information may be forged and transmitted again, the security may be a very important issue for the devices that provide services to the users over the communication network. 
         [0013]    Therefore, in the next-generation communication system, it is necessary to study a way to solve the security vulnerabilities or the privacy infringements of the devices that provide services to the users over the communication network. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0014]    An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for enhancing the security of data transmitted/received over a communication network. 
         [0015]    Further, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for transmitting, to a user device, an image processed based on a privacy level of the user device. 
         [0016]    Further, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for transmitting a raw image to a user device in an emergency situation, 
         [0017]    Further, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for detecting modulation of an image processed based on a privacy level of a user device. 
         [0018]    In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for enhancing data security includes: if a request message including information related to a first privacy level is received from a user device, authenticating the user device; if the user device is determined as an authenticated device, verifying the information related to the first privacy level; if the verification of the information related to the first privacy level is completed, transmitting, to the user device, an image processed based on the first privacy level among images processed based on a plurality of privacy levels. 
         [0019]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, an apparatus for enhancing data security includes a processing module configured to, if a request message including information related to a first privacy level is received from a user device, authenticate the user device; and if the user device is determined as an authenticated device, verify the information related to the first privacy level; and a transmission/reception module configured to, if the verification of the information related to the first privacy level is completed, transmit, to the user device, an image processed based on the first privacy level among images processed based on a plurality of privacy levels, 
         [0020]    Other aspects, advantages and key features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         [0021]    By enhancing the security of data transmitted/received over the communication network, the present disclosure may resolve the security vulnerabilities or the privacy infringements of the devices that provide services to the users over the communication network. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for transmitting a processed image to a user device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a call setup and release procedure performed between terminals according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for transmitting a raw image to a user device, an emergency center and a nearby user device in an emergency situation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for detecting modulation of a processed image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting a filtered image to a user device by a processing unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting, by a processing unit, a raw image to a user device, an emergency center and a nearby user device in an emergency situation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a processing unit for enhancing data security according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0029]      FIGS. 8A to 8C  are diagrams illustrating examples of implementing a processing unit for enhancing data security according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating an example of processing data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating another example of processing data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present disclosure, a detailed description of well-known functions or elements associated with the present disclosure will be omitted if it unnecessarily obscures the subject matter of the present disclosure. The terms described below are defined in consideration of their functions in the present disclosure, and are subject to change depending on the intention or practice of the user or operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the entire description of the present disclosure. 
         [0033]    According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device may include a communication function. For example, the electronic device may be a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, a desktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a MP3 player, a mobile medical device, a camera, a wearable device (e.g., a head-mounted device (HMD), electronic apparel, electronic bracelet, electronic necklace, electronic Appcessory, electronic tattoo, or smart watch), or the like. 
         [0034]    According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be a smart home appliance with a communication function. For example, the smart home appliance may be a television (TV), a digital video disk (DVD) player, an audio player, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washer, a dryer, an air purifier, a set-top box, a TV box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™) a gaming console, an electronic dictionary, a camcorder, an electronic photo frame, or the like. 
         [0035]    According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be a medical device (e.g., a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) device, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) device, a computed tomography (CT) device, an imaging device, or an ultrasonic device), a navigation device, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, an event data recorder (EDR), a flight data recorder (FDR), an automotive infotainment device, a navigational electronic device (e.g., a sailing navigation device, a gyroscope, or a compass), an avionics device, a security device, an industrial or customer robot, or the like. 
         [0036]    According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the electronic device may be a combination of the above-described devices. Further, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the electronic device according to preferred embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described devices. 
         [0037]    In the below-described embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for enhancing the security of information transmitted by an IoT device, a wearable device, an e-health device, a smart home device or the like will be described in more detail. 
         [0038]    In a detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure, a 3 rd  generation partnership project (3GPP)-based evolved packet system (EPS), a UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) radio access network (UTRAN), a GSM (global system for mobile communication) EDGE radio access network (GERAN), a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network, and a Bluetooth network will be used. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the subject matter of the present disclosure is also applicable to other communication systems having similar technical backgrounds with minor modifications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0039]      FIG. 1  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for transmitting a processed image to a user device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the illustrated signaling diagram may include a sensor unit  101  for capturing (or shooting) an image, a processing unit  103  for processing the captured image, and a user device  105  that receives the image. In the example of  FIG. 1 , each of the sensor unit  101 , the processing unit  103  and the user device  105  will be assumed to be configured as a separate unit. In some cases, however, the sensor unit  101  and the processing unit  103  may be configured as one unit, or all of the sensor unit  101 , the processing unit  103  and the user device  105  may be configured as one unit. 
         [0041]    Assuming a home network system, the sensor unit  101  may be, for example, a variety of cameras, or a camera connected to a home device, and the user device  105  may be, for example, a terminal or a control unit of the home network system. 
         [0042]    Further, the home device may include smart appliances, security devices, lighting devices, energy devices and the like. For example, the smart appliance may be televisions (TVs), air conditioners, refrigerators, washers, robot cleaners, humidifiers and the like, and the security device may be door locks, security cameras, closed circuit televisions (CCTVs), security sensors and the like. The lighting device may be light emitting diode (LED) lamps and the like, and the energy device may be heating equipments, power meters, power sockets, electrical outlets, multi-taps and the like. Additionally, the home device may include personal computers (PCs), Internet protocol (IP) cameras, Internet phones, wired/wireless phones, electrically controllable curtains or blinds, and the like. 
         [0043]    The sensor unit  101  may capture an image and transmit the captured raw image to the processing unit  103  (Operation  100 ). 
         [0044]    The processing unit  103  may store the raw image transmitted from the sensor unit  101  in a temporary buffer or a memory unit embedded therein, and process the stored raw image (Operation  102 ). The storing operation and the processing operation for the raw image may be performed at the same time, or the processing operation may be performed after the storing operation is completed. 
         [0045]    For example, a filtering scheme, a masking scheme, an arithmetic processing scheme and the like may be used for the processing of the raw image, and the processing unit  103  may split and encrypt the data related to the raw image based on the processing schemes. In particular, the processing unit  103  may process the data related to the raw image as information including only the target shooting subject, information including only the background, information including both of the background and the target shooting subject, and information obtained by encrypting the information including both of the background and the target shooting subject according to the security level and the privacy level. The ‘privacy level’ may be, for example, an image permission level, and the image permission level represents whether access to the processed image is permitted. 
         [0046]    For example, the processing unit  103  may process to exclude the background except for the people, which are the target shooting subjects, from the raw image, to leave only the contours of all the shooting subjects on the raw image, to blur all the shooting subjects on the raw image based on the smoothing technique, or to replace the background except for the target shooting subjects with another background on the raw image through a shift operation or a convolutional operation. 
         [0047]    Further, if the current situation is a predetermined emergency situation or an image permission level of the user device  105 , to which the image is sent, indicates allowance of access to the raw image, the processing unit  103  may send the raw age to the user device  105  intact without performing the processing process of Operation  102 . The predetermined emergency situation may include, for example, an occasion where the elderly or patient at home has a health problem, an occasion where there is an intruder in the house, or an occasion where gas leaks or fire occurs in the house. The occasion where the image permission level of the user device  105  indicates allowance of access to the raw image is an occasion where after undergoing an internal authentication process based on biological information such as fingerprints or heart rates recognized by a sensor unit embedded in the user device  105 , the user device  105  is permitted to access the raw image depending on the authentication result. 
         [0048]    The user device  105  may transmit a request message for requesting transmission of an image or personal information, to the processing unit  103  (Operation  104 ). The processing unit  103  may authenticate the user device  105  that has transmitted the request message (Operation  106 ). In other words, the processing unit  103  may determine whether the user device  105  is an authenticated device. Here, the reason for transmitting the request message to the processing unit  103 , not to the sensor unit  101 , is to prevent the user device  105  from accessing the raw image captured by the sensor unit  101 , and enable the user device  105  to access only the image processed by the processing unit  103 , thereby enhancing the security and the privacy protection 
         [0049]    The user device  105  may transmit information related to its own image permission level together with the request message in Operation  104 . In this case, when determining in Operation  106  whether the user device  105  that has transmitted the request message is an authenticated device, the processing unit  103  may also verify information related to the image permission level included in the request message. A method of comparing the image permission level (i.e., the image permission level included in the request message) from the user device  105  with an image permission level that is permitted to the user device  105  by policy, may be used for the process of verifying the information related to the image permission level. 
         [0050]    Various methods may be used for the process of authenticating a user device and/or verifying an image permission level in Operation  106 , depending on the network environment (e.g., mobile communication environment, cellular communication environment, Bluetooth environment, WiFi environment and the like) of the user device  105 . Therefore, a method based on various network environments may be used for the process of authenticating a user device and/or verifying an image permission level in the present disclosure. 
         [0051]    If the authentication of the user device and/or the verification of the image permission level are completed, the processing unit  103  may transmit the processed image to the user device  105  (Operation  108 ). The ‘processed image’ in Operation  108  may be an image processed based on an image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the request message, and may refer to an image, to which access by the user device  105  is permitted. 
         [0052]    It is assumed in  FIG. 1  that information related to an image permission level is included in a request message. However, the information related to the image permission level may not be included in the request message, and in this case, the processing unit  103  may transmit an image processed based on an image permission level with a default value to the user device  105 . The image permission level with the default value may be set by the user, or may be the most powerful image permission level. 
         [0053]    Meanwhile, the user device  105  may transmit a level-up image request message to the processing unit  103  (Operation  110 ), to request transmission of a more refined image than the image received in Operation  108 . The level-up image request message may include information related to an image permission level higher than the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level transmitted in Operation  104 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is assumed that if the image permission level is high, the access to the image processed similar to the raw image is permitted. 
         [0054]    The processing unit  103  may verify the information related to the image permission level included in the level-up request message (Operation  112 ). Thereafter, if the verification of the information related to the image permission level is completed, the processing unit  103  may transmit the processed image to the user device  105  (Operation  114 ). In Operation  114 , the processed image refers to an image processed based on the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission included in the level-up request message. 
         [0055]    In  FIG. 1 , the operation of receiving a request message from the user device  105  after processing the raw image has been described by way of example. However, the operation (i.e., Operation  102 ) of processing the raw image may be performed after receiving the request message. In this case, upon receiving a request message including information related to an image permission level from the user device  105 , the processing unit  103  may process the raw image based on the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the request message. 
         [0056]      FIG. 2  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for performing communication between terminals according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0057]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the illustrated signaling diagram may include a first user equipment (UE)  201 , a first evolved UTRAN (EUTRAN)  203 , a first core network  205 , an IP (Internet protocol) multimedia subsystem (IMS)  207 , a second core network  209 , a second EUTRAN  211 , and a second UE  213 . 
         [0058]    Assuming a video call between the first UE  201  and the second UE  313 , the first UE  201  may perform a call setup and registration procedure for a video call with the second UE  213  (Operation  200 ). The call setup and registration procedure may be performed by a plurality of entities included in the first EUTRAN  203 , the first core network  205 , the IMS  207 , the second core network  209  and the second EUTRAN  211 . However, since the call setup and registration procedure itself is not closely related to the present disclosure, it is simplified herein as shown in Operation  200 . 
         [0059]    The information related to an image permission level applied in the operation of processing a raw image may be set in Operation  200  through, for example, a session description protocol (SDP) parameter. In other words, the first UE  201  may request to change the image permission level applied to the processing operation to an image permission level higher or lower than a preset image permission level through an SDP parameter value, and the second UE  213  may transmit information indicating whether to permit the change in the image permission level together with a response to the request, making it possible to set the information related to the image permission level. Further, the information related to the image permission level may be set as an image permission level with a default value. The image permission level with a default level may be an image permission level set by the user, or may be the most powerful image permission level. 
         [0060]    The information related to the image permission level applied in the operation of processing the raw image may be set through, as another example, a home subscriber server (HSS) in Operation  200 . In other words, as the HSS fetches the information related to the image permission level with a default value set by the corresponding UE, the information related to the image permission level may be set. The information related to the image permission level set through the HSS may be changed in Operation  200 . 
         [0061]    Further, for example, a filtering scheme, a masking scheme, an arithmetic processing scheme and the like may be used for the processing of the raw image. 
         [0062]    Upon completing the call setup and registration procedure with the first ITE  201 , the second UE  213  may determine an image permission level for a video call (Operation  202 ), and process a captured raw image based on the determined image permission level (Operation  204 ). The image permission level may be determined by the user&#39;s interface, or automatically determined by the stored image permission level and the image permission level that is permitted by policy. 
         [0063]    Thereafter, the second UE  213  may transmit an image processed based on the image permission level determined in Operation  202  to the first UE  201 , to perform communication (i.e., a video call) with the first UE  201  (Operation  206 ). After transmitting the processed image, the second UE  213  may perform a call release procedure with the first UE  201  to terminate the communication with the first UE  201  (Operation  208 ). 
         [0064]      FIG. 3  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for transmitting a raw image to a user device, an emergency center and a nearby user device in an emergency situation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the illustrated signaling diagram may include a sensor unit  301  for capturing an image, a processing unit  303  for processing the captured image; and a user device  305 , an emergency center  307  and a nearby user device  309 , each of which receives an image. Although it is assumed in  FIG. 3  that each of the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  and the user device  305  is configured as a separate unit, however, in some cases, the sensor unit  301  and the processing unit  303  may be configured as one unit, or all of the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  and the user device  305  may be configured as one unit. 
         [0066]    In  FIG. 3 , an emergency situation such as an occasion where a patient at home has a health problem in a home network system will be assumed. However, the procedure described in  FIG. 3  may be applied to other emergency situations with minor changes. 
         [0067]    If the user device  305  (e.g., a terminal, a wearable device, an e-health device and the like) detects an emergency situation where a patient at home has a health problem (Operation  300 ), the user device  305  may transmit an emergency situation notification message to the processing unit  303  to notify occurrence of the emergency situation (Operation  302 ). In other words, the user device  305  may notify the processing unit  303  of the occurrence of the emergency situation by transmitting information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation together with the emergency situation notification message. As for the occurrence of the emergency situation, as one example, an indicator indicating occurrence of an emergency situation may be transmitted together with the emergency situation notification message, or a specific bit among the bits constituting the emergency situation notification message may be set and transmitted for the notification. 
         [0068]    Here, the reason for transmitting the emergency situation notification message to the processing unit  303 , not to the sensor unit  301 , is to prevent the user device  305  from accessing the raw image captured by the sensor unit  301 , and enable the user device  305  to access only the image processed by the processing unit  303 , thereby enhancing the security and the privacy protection. 
         [0069]    Further, the user device  305  may transmit the emergency situation notification message and information about the patient at home to the emergency center  307  (Operation  304 ). The information about the patient may include a patient identifier (ID) for identifying the patient, and information related to the patient&#39;s health status measured by a wearable device, an e-health device and the like. 
         [0070]    Upon receiving the notification indicating the occurrence of the emergency situation from the user device  305 , the processing unit  303  may authenticate the user device  305  (Operation  306 ). In other words, the processing unit  303  may determine whether the user device  305  is an authenticated device. 
         [0071]    As another example, the user device  305  may transmit information related to an image permission level together with the emergency situation notification message transmitted in Operation  302 . In this case, when determining whether the user device  305  is an authenticated device, the processing unit  303  may also verify the information related to the image permission level included in the request message. A method of comparing the image permission level (i.e., the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the request message) that the user device  305  has requested to query, with a privacy level that is permitted to the user device  305  by policy, may be used for the process of verifying the information related to the image permission level. 
         [0072]    Various methods may be used for the process of authenticating the user device and/or verifying the image permission level in Operation  306 , depending on the network environment (e.g., mobile communication environment, cellular communication environment, Bluetooth environment, WiFi environment and the like) of the user device  305 . Therefore, a method based on various network environments may be used for the process of authenticating a user device and/or verifying an image permission level in the present disclosure. 
         [0073]    The processing unit  303  may verify whether an emergency situation has occurred, by determining whether an indicator indicating occurrence of an emergency situation is included in the emergency situation notification message received in Operation  302 , or whether a specific bit is set, which is related to occurrence of an emergency situation, among the bits constituting the emergency situation notification message (Operation  308 ). 
         [0074]    Upon determining or verifying the occurrence of the emergency situation, the processing unit  303  may transmit an emergency situation notification message to the sensor unit  301  to notify the occurrence of the emergency situation (Operation  310 ). In other words, the processing unit  303  may notify the sensor unit  301  of the occurrence of the emergency situation by transmitting information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation together with the emergency situation notification message. As an example of notifying the occurrence of the emergency situation, the user device  305  may transmit an indicator indicating the occurrence of the emergency situation together with the emergency situation notification message, or set and transmit a specific bit related to the occurrence of the emergency situation among the bits constituting the emergency situation notification message. 
         [0075]    Upon receiving the notification indicating the occurrence of the emergency situation from the processing unit  303 , the sensor unit  301  may transmit the captured raw image and the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to the processing unit  303  (Operation  312 ). The information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation may be, for example, an indicator indicating the occurrence of the emergency situation and a specific bit related to the occurrence of the emergency situation. The reason for transmitting the raw image and the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation together in Operation  312  is to rapidly transmit the accurate information about the emergency situation in the subsequent procedures. 
         [0076]    The processing unit  303  may store and process the raw image transmitted from the sensor unit  301  at the same time (Operation  314 ). For example, a filtering scheme, a masking scheme, an arithmetic processing scheme and the like may be used for the processing of the raw image. For example, the processing unit  303  may process to exclude the background except for the people, which are the target shooting subjects, from the raw image, to leave only the contours of all the shooting subjects on the raw image, to blur all the shooting subjects on the raw image based on the smoothing technique, or to replace the background except for the target shooting subjects with another background on the raw image through a shift operation or a convolutional operation, 
         [0077]    Upon receiving the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation from the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  may transmit the raw image intact to each of the user device  305 , the emergency situation  307  and the nearby user device  309  without performing the processing operation of Operation  314 . Therefore, the processing operation (Operation  314 ) in the emergency situation may be omitted, or performed at the same time with the process of transmitting the raw image to each of the user device  305 , the emergency situation  307  and the nearby user device  309 . 
         [0078]    In other words, upon receiving the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation from the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  may transmit the raw image and the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to the user device  305  (e.g., a terminal, a wearable device, an e-health device and the like) (Operation  316 ). 
         [0079]    Further, upon receiving the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation from the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  may transmit the raw image and the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to the emergency center  307  (Operation  318 ). In this case, the processing unit  303  may transmit at least one of a patient ID, a wearable device ID of the patient, and an e-health device ID of the patient to emergency center  307  so that the first aid treatment may be given to the patient at the emergency center. The transmission operation by the processing unit  303  in Operation  318  may be performed using an ID or IP address of the emergency center, which is registered in the processing unit  303 , or an ID or IP address of the emergency center, which is transmitted from the user device  305 . 
         [0080]    Further, upon receiving the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation from the sensor unit  301 , the processing unit  303  may transmit the raw image and the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to a predetermined nearby user device  309  (Operation  320 ). The nearby user device  309  may be a user device of the patient&#39;s family, relatives or neighbors, and the transmission operation by the processing unit  303  in Operation  320  may be performed using communication Ds or IP addresses of the patient&#39;s family, relatives or neighbors, which are registered in the processing unit  303 , or communication IDs or IP addresses of patient&#39;s family, relatives or neighbors, which transmitted from the user device  305 . 
         [0081]    Although it is assumed in  FIG. 3  that Operations  316 ,  318  and  320  are performed in sequence, Operations  316 ,  318  and  320  may be performed in parallel. 
         [0082]    The emergency center  307  may identify the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation, which is transmitted from the processing unit  303 , and authenticate a patient ID, a wearable device ID of the patient and an e-health device ID of the patient, which are additionally transmitted (Operation  322 ). 
         [0083]    Thereafter, the emergency center  307  may process the emergency situation information such as the patient information received in Operation  304  and the raw image received in Operation  320 . The processed emergency situation information may be used to perform the most appropriate first aid for the patient. In other words, the processed emergency situation information may be used to perform the first aid such as sending the necessary medical staff or an ambulance to the patient. 
         [0084]      FIG. 4  is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for detecting modulation of a processed image according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0085]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the illustrated signaling diagram may include a sensor unit  401  for capturing an image, a processing unit  403  for processing the captured image, and a user device  405  for receiving the image. It is assumed in  FIG. 4  that each of the sensor unit  401 , the processing unit  403  and the user device  405  is configured as a separate unit. However, in some cases, the sensor unit  401  and the processing unit  403  may be configured as one unit, or all of the sensor unit  401 , the processing unit  403  and the user device  405  may be configured as one unit. 
         [0086]    Assuming a home network system, the sensor unit  401  may be, for example, a variety of cameras, or a camera connected to a home device, and the user device  405  may be, for example, a terminal or a control unit of the home network system. 
         [0087]    The user device  405  may transmit a request message for requesting transmission of an image or personal information, to the processing unit  403  (Operation  400 ). The processing unit  403  may authenticate the user device  405  that has transmitted the request message (Operation  402 ). In other words, the processing unit  403  may determine whether the user device  405  is an authenticated device. Here, reason for transmitting the request message to the processing unit  403 , not to the sensor unit  401 , is to prevent the user device  405  from accessing the raw image captured by the sensor unit  401 , and enable the user device  405  to access only the image processed by the processing unit  403 , thereby enhancing the security and the privacy protection 
         [0088]    As another example, the user device  405  may transmit information related to an image permission level together with the request message in Operation  400 . In this case, when determining whether the user device  405  that has transmitted the request message in Operation  400  is an authenticated device, the processing unit  403  may also verify the information related to the image permission level included in the request message. A method of comparing the image permission level (i.e., the image permission level included in the request message) from the user device  405 , with an image permission level that is permitted to the user device  405  by policy, may be used for the process of verifying the information related to the image permission level. 
         [0089]    Various methods may be used for the process of authenticating a user device and/or verifying an image permission level in Operation  402 , depending on the network environment (e.g., mobile communication environment, cellular communication environment, Bluetooth environment, WiFi environment and the like) of the user device  405 . Therefore, a method based on various network environments may be used for the process of authenticating a user device and/or verifying an image permission level in the present disclosure. 
         [0090]    If the authentication of the user device and/or the verification of the image permission level are completed, the processing unit  403  may transmit a request message for requesting transmission of an image or personal information, to the sensor unit  401  (Operation  404 ). The request message may include information related to the user device  405  (e.g., an ID, an IP address and a communication ID of the user device  405 ), so the sensor unit  401  may detect data modulation at the user device  405 . 
         [0091]    Upon receiving the request message from the processing unit  403 , the sensor unit  401  may transmit the captured raw image to the processing unit  403  (Operation  406 ). 
         [0092]    The processing unit  403  may perform the processing operation while storing the raw image, or perform the processing operation after completing the storing operation (Operation  408 ). For example, a filtering scheme, a masking scheme, an arithmetic processing scheme and the like may be used for the processing of the raw image, and the processing unit  403  may split and encrypt the data related to the image. In particular, the processing unit  403  may process the data related to the raw image as information including only the shooting subject, information including only the background, information including both of the background and the shooting subject, and information obtained by encrypting the information including both of the background and the shooting subject according to the security level and the image permission level. 
         [0093]    For example, the processing unit  403  may process to exclude the background except for the people, which are the target shooting subjects, from the raw image, to leave only the contours of all the shooting subjects on the raw image, to blur all the shooting subjects on the raw image based on the smoothing technique, or to replace the background except for the target shooting subjects with another background on the raw image through a shift operation or a convolutional operation. 
         [0094]    The sensor unit  401  may transmit information related to the raw image transmission (e.g., information related to a time stamp and a random number) to the user device  405 , so the user device  405  may verify data modulation (Operation  410 ). 
         [0095]    Thereafter, the processing unit  403  may transmit an image processed based on an image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the request message received in Operation  400 , to the user device  405  (Operation  412 ). Here, it is assumed that the information related to the image permission level is included in the request message. However, if the information related to the image permission level is not included in the request message, the processing unit  403  may transmit an image processed based on an image permission level with a default value to the user device  405 . The image permission level with a default value may be set by the user, or may be the most powerful image permission level. 
         [0096]    The user device  405  may verify modulation/non-modulation of the processed image received in Operation  412  (Operation  414 ). The verification operation of Operation  414  may be performed using the information related to the time stamp and the random number, which is received in Operation  410 . In other words, the user device  405  may compare the time stamp and random number indicated by the information related to the raw image transmission, which is received in Operation  410 , with the time stamp and the random number for the processed image received in Operation  412 . If the time stamp and the random number of the raw image are different from the time stamp and the random number of the processed image, the user device  405  may consider that the processed image is modulated. Upon determining that the processed image is modulated, the user device  405  may perform an error detection operation for the transmission process of the processing unit  403 , without trusting the processed image received in Operation  412 . 
         [0097]    Meanwhile, the user device  405  may transmit a level-up image request message to the processing unit  403  (Operation  416 ), to request transmission of a more refined image than the processed image received in Operation  412 . The level-up request message may include information related to an image permission level higher than the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level, which is transmitted in Operation  400 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is assumed that if the image permission level is high, the access to the image processed similar to the raw image is permitted. 
         [0098]    The processing unit  403  may verify the information related to the image permission level included in the level-up image request message (Operation  418 ). Thereafter, if the verification of the information related to the image permission level is completed, the processing unit  403  may transmit the processed image to the user device  405  (Operation  420 ). The processed image in Operation  420  means an image processed based on the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the level-up request message. 
         [0099]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting a processed image to a user device by a processing unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0100]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , the processing unit may receive a captured raw image from the sensor unit in Operation  501 , and process the raw image based on predetermined privacy levels in Operation  503 . For example, a filtering scheme, a masking scheme, an arithmetic processing scheme and the like may be used for the processing of the raw image. 
         [0101]    In Operation  505 , the processing unit may receive a request message for requesting transmission of an image or personal information from the user device. In Operation  507 , the processing unit may authenticate the user device that has transmitted the request message. In other words, the processing unit may determine whether the user device is an authenticated device. 
         [0102]    The processing unit may determine in Operation  509  whether information related to a first privacy level is included in the request message received in Operation  505 . If it is determined in Operation  509  that the information related to the first privacy level is included in the request message, the processing unit may verify the first privacy level indicated by the information related to the first privacy level in Operation  511 . In Operation  513 , the processing unit may transmit an image processed based on the verified first privacy level to the user device. 
         [0103]    If it is determined in Operation  509  that the information related to the first privacy level is not included in the request message, the processing unit may transmit an image processed based on a privacy level with a default value to the user device in Operation  515 . The privacy level with a default value may be set by the user, or may be the most powerful image permission level. 
         [0104]    Meanwhile, the processing unit may determine in Operation  517  whether a level-up image request message for requesting transmission of a more refined image (i.e., an image similar to the raw image) than the processed image transmitted in Operation  513  is received. If it is determined in Operation  517  that the level-up image request message is not received from the user device, the processing unit may end the ongoing operation. 
         [0105]    However, if it is determined in Operation  517  that the level-up image request message is received from the user device, the processing unit may verify a second privacy level indicated by information related to the second privacy level included in the level-up image request message in Operation  519 . Here, the second privacy level means a level to permit access to a more refined image (i.e., an image similar to the raw image) than the first privacy level. In Operation  521 , the processing unit may transmit an image processed based on the second privacy level to the user device. 
         [0106]    It is assumed in  FIG. 5  that the processing unit receives the request message from the user device after performing the raw image processing. However, the operation (i.e., Operation  503 ) of processing the raw image may be performed after the processing unit receives the request message. In this case, the processing unit may receive the request message including the information related to the privacy level from the user device, and process the raw image based on the image permission level indicated by the information related to the image permission level included in the request message. 
         [0107]      FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting a raw image to a user device, an emergency center and a nearby user device in an emergency situation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0108]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , the processing unit may receive a request message for requesting transmission of an image or personal information from the user device in Operation  601 , and determine in Operation  603  whether the user device that has transmitted the request message is an authenticated device. 
         [0109]    The processing unit may determine in Operation  605  whether information related to occurrence of an emergency situation is included in the request message received in Operation  601 . Here, an emergency situation of an occasion where a patient at home has a health problem in a home network system will be assumed. information related to occurrence of the emergency situation may be expressed as, for example, an indicator indicating the occurrence of the emergency situation, and a specific bit related to the occurrence of the emergency situation. If it is determined in Operation  605  that information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation is not included in the request message, the processing unit may return to Operation  601  and wait to receive a request message. 
         [0110]    If it is determined in Operation  605  that the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation is included in the request message, the processing unit may transmit the request message including the information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to the sensor unit in Operation  607 . 
         [0111]    In Operation  609 , the processing unit may receive a captured raw image and information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation from the sensor unit in response to the request message. In Operation  611 , the processing unit may transmit the received raw image and information related to the occurrence of the emergency situation to at least one of the user device, the emergency center and the nearby user device. In this case, the processing unit may additionally transmit at least one of a patient ID, a patient&#39;s wearable device ID and a patient&#39;s e-health device ID so that the first aid treatment may be given to the patient at the emergency center. 
         [0112]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of a processing unit for enhancing data security according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0113]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , an illustrated processing unit  700  is shown as a separate unit. However, each of the processing unit  700 , the sensor unit and the user device may be configured as a separate unit according to the application example, and the sensor unit and the processing unit  700  may be configured as one unit. Otherwise, all of the sensor unit, the processing unit  700  and the user device may be configured as one unit. 
         [0114]    The illustrated processing unit  700  may include a transmission/reception module  702  and a processing module  704 . The processing module  704  may be involved in the overall operation of the processing unit  700 . In particular, the processing module  704  may be adapted to perform the overall operation related to the enhancement of the data security according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the overall operation related to the enhancement of the data security is as described in  FIGS. 1 to 6 , so a description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0115]    The transmission/reception module  702  may transmit various messages under control of the processing module  704 . Here, the various messages transmitted by the transmission/reception module  702  are as described in  FIGS. 1 to 6 , so a description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0116]      FIGS. 8A to 8C  are diagrams illustrating examples of implementing a processing unit for enhancing data security according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         [0117]      FIG. 8A  illustrates an example in which a sensor unit  801  and a processing unit  803  are configured as one unit  800 . The processing unit  803  may include an input module  805  for inputting or receiving data from a sensor, a processing module  807 , and a transmitting module  809  for transmitting data to a display of the user device. 
         [0118]    The configuration of  FIG. 8A  may be applied to a robot cleaner on which a sensor such as a camera is mounted, or a refrigerator on which the sensor is mounted. A user device  811  that is configured as a separate entity may be an electronic device such as, for example, a wearable device and an e-health device. 
         [0119]      FIG. 8B  illustrates an example in which a sensor unit  820 , a processing unit  831  and a user device  841  are configured as respective units  820 ,  830  and  840 . The processing unit  831  may include an input module  833 , a processing module  835 , and a transmitting module  837 . 
         [0120]    The configuration of  FIG. 8B  may be applied to a case where the user device is configured as a separate entity in terms of the security of personal data, or of the privacy. The user device  841  configured as a separate entity may be an electronic device such as, for example, a wearable device and an e-health device. The user device  305  in  FIG. 3  may correspond to a user device configured as a separate entity. 
         [0121]    Assuming that the user device  841  is configured with other function blocks, not configured as a separate entity, the user device  841  may be, for example, a smart phone or the like. The user device  105  in  FIG. 1  may correspond to a user device configured with other function blocks. 
         [0122]      FIG. 8C  illustrates an example in which all of a sensor unit  851 , a processing unit  853  and a user device  861  are configured as one unit  850 . The processing unit  853  may include an input module  855 , a processing module  857 , and an output module  859  or a transmitting module for transmitting data to a display part as a display of the user device is mounted in one unit. Depending on the implementation, if the processing unit  853  is implemented in the form of an internal interface, the processing unit  853  may be implemented in the form of an output module, and if the processing unit  853  is implemented in the form of performing data transmission, the processing unit  853  may be implemented in the form that has characteristics of a transmitting module. The configuration of  FIG. 8C  may be applied to a device such as a smart phone, a mobile phone, and a tablet device, or to a device with the mobility such as high-performance/high-end webcam or a robot cleaner. 
         [0123]      FIG. 9  is a diagram illustrating an example of processing data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, in  FIG. 9 , a flow of a case where data is processed on the cloud will be assumed. 
         [0124]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , raw data may be stored in a structured query language (SQL) database (DB)  900  (Operation  901 ), or stored in a not-only SQL (NoSQL) DB  930  through a processing module  910  (Operation  903 ), or the raw data may be input to a sub module  920  of the processing module  910  (Operation  905 ), and analyzed through the sub module. The raw data may be collected through a sensor unit, or an application or web page of a user device. The NoSQL DB  930  may store the data, interworking with a file system  940 , or store the data independently. 
         [0125]    The reason for storing the raw data in the SQL DB  900  in Operation  901  is to facilitate data query through storing of structured data. 
         [0126]    Further, when the raw data is stored in the NoSQL DB  930  in Operation  903 , unstructured data may be stored using at least one of the NoSQL DB  930  and the file system  940 . In other words, clues for data search may be stored in the NoSQL DB  930  that stores unstructured data, and actual data such as multimedia data may be stored using the file system  940 . During data query, the NoSQL DB  930  may transmit a data query request to the file system  940  (Operation  909 ), and the file system  940  may transmit the data query result to the NoSQL DB  930  (Operation  911 ). 
         [0127]    Further, when the sub module  920  of the processing module  910  analyzes raw data, the sub module  920  may analyze the raw data with a way to store the result using map-reduce. In other words, the sub module  920  may analyze the data by generating data having new keys and new values by processing the raw data, and. grouping the data having the same key value through a process of shuffling or sorting the generated data. 
         [0128]    The intermediate result value of the raw data analysis may be stored in the NoSQL DB  930  (Operation  907 ). The NoSQL DB  930  of Hbase, Mango DB, Apache and the like may be used for the NoSQL DB  930 . If a DB query request occurs during the analysis process, the sub module  920  may send a DB query request to the NoSQL  930  (Operation  913 ), and receive the DB query result in response thereto (Operation  915 ). Thereafter, the sub module  920  may transmit the final analysis result obtained considering the received DB query result, to the NoSQL DB  930  (Operation  917 ). 
         [0129]      FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating another example of processing data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Particularly, in  FIG. 10 , a flow of a case where data is processed on the cloud will be assumed. 
         [0130]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , if raw data collected through a sensor unit, or an application or web page of a user device is multimedia data, a user device  1000  or a sensor unit (not shown) may transmit additional information such as streaming history or search history to sub modules  1020  and  1030  of a processing module  1010 , respectively. 
         [0131]    The sub module  1020  may count specific search histories based on the received additional information, and update the information stored in a log record management unit  1040  based on the result value (Operation  1003 ), to manage the user log records. Further, the sub module  1030  may increase the count corresponding to a specific category based on the received additional information, and update the information stored in the log record management unit  1040  based on the category log value indicating degree of the similarity (Operation  1005 ), to manage the user log records. 
         [0132]    While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the illustrated embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof. 
         [0133]    It will also be appreciated that the method and apparatus for enhancing data security according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Such arbitrary software may be stored in a volatile or nonvolatile storage device such as, for example, erasable/rewritable ROM, a memory such as, for example, RAM, memory chip, memory device or IC, or an optically/magnetically writable machine (e.g., computer)-readable storage medium such as, for example, CD, DVD, magnetic disc or magnetic tape. The graphic screen update od of the present disclosure may be implemented by a computer or a mobile terminal including a control unit and a memory, and the memory is an example of a machine readable storage medium suitable for storing a program or programs including instructions embodying the embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         [0134]    Accordingly, the invention may include a program comprising code for implementing the apparatus or method as claimed in any of the claims herein, and a machine (e.g., computer)-readable storage medium for storing such a program. In addition, such a program may be electronically transported through any medium, such as a communication signal carried over a wired or wireless connection, and the present invention appropriately includes equivalents thereof. 
         [0135]    In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the program may be received and stored from a device for enhancing data security. The program providing apparatus may include a memory for storing a program including instructions for causing the graphic processing apparatus to perform a predetermined content protection method, and information necessary for the content protection method, a communication unit for performing wired or wireless communication with the graphic processing apparatus, and a control unit for transmitting the program to the transmission/reception apparatus automatically or at the request of the graphic processing apparatus.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7