Patent ID: 8800012

Claim:
An authentication system comprising an authentication apparatus and an apparatus to be authenticated, wherein the apparatus to be authenticated is a setting management apparatus for managing setting information of the authentication apparatus, and comprises: a storing unit which stores a password and information indicative of the number of times of processing, for which the password is processed repeatedly with a predetermined one-way function; a first transmitting unit which transmits an encrypted password obtained by processing the password with the one-way function for the number of times of processing, and the information indicative of the number of times of processing to the authentication apparatus; and a second transmitting unit which transmits an encrypted password obtained by processing the password with the one-way function for the subtracted number of times derived by subtracting a predetermined subtraction number from the number of times of processing, and the subtracted number of times to the authentication apparatus, wherein the storing unit stores a password received from the authentication apparatus, as a new password, wherein the authentication apparatus comprises: an authentication unit performing authentication on the basis of the encrypted password that was processed for the number of times of processing, the information indicative of the number of times of processing, the encrypted password that was processed for the subtracted number of times, and the information indicative of the subtracted number of times, a transmitting unit transmitting a new password to the apparatus to be authenticated, wherein the apparatus to be authenticated comprises a setting information transmitting unit which, when the apparatus to be authenticated is authenticated by the authentication apparatus, transmits the setting information of the authentication apparatus to the authentication apparatus, further comprising a connecting unit connecting the apparatus to be authentication to the authentication apparatus when the apparatus to be authenticated becomes accessible to the authentication apparatus after the apparatus to be authenticated fails to connect to the authentication apparatus; and the setting information transmitting unit transmits the setting information to the authentication apparatus connected as a network for setting by the setting connecting unit.