Patent ID: 7246241

Claim:
A job processor for executing a service in cooperation with other job processors according to job flow instruction data, the job processor comprising: a key storage unit having separate signature keys, one for use inside of a network to which the job processor belongs and the other for use outside of the network; a receiver unit for receiving job flow instruction data which indicates a process instruction for each job processor and a next job processor for each job process; a signature verification unit for verifying an electronic signature attached to the job flow instruction data received at the receiver unit; a processor unit for identifying, from the job flow instruction data, a process instruction the job processor should execute when the verification by the signature verification unit is successful and for executing the process according to the process instruction; an instruction data creation unit for creating output job flow instruction data to be transmitted to a next job processor based on the received job flow instruction data when the process is executed by the processor unit; a judging unit for judging whether or not the next job processor is a device within the network; a signature processor unit for electronically signing the output job flow instruction data using the signature key for the inside when the next job processor is a device within the network and using the signature key for the outside otherwise; and a transmitter unit for transmitting the output job flow instruction data electronically signed by the signature processor unit to the next job processor.