Patent ID: 7380121

Claim:
An image processing device comprising: a management section for storing an authentication level set in accordance with at least one of day and time; an authentication section for changing the authentication level to perform user authentication in accordance with at least one of day and time; an image processing section for performing requested image processing to image data in accordance with a result of authentication by the authentication section; and a time management section for managing at least one of day and time; wherein the authentication level is set in accordance with a volume of image processing which is predicted in accordance with at least one of day and time, in cases where the volume of the image processing is not less than a predetermined value, the authentication level for the user authentication is set at a first condition in cases where the volume of image processing is less than the predetermined value, the authentication level for the user authentication is set to be more strict than the first condition, and a change in a volume of data processing is correlated with a possibility of unauthorized use of the image data.