Patent ID: 8458771

Claim:
An authentication control device connected to an external authentication device which performs authentication to allow a user to use the authentication control device, comprising: an authentication information receiving unit configured to receive user authentication information; a querying unit configured to query the external authentication device for authentication in response to receiving the user authentication information; a receiving unit configured to receive a related information of a result of the authentication performed by the external authentication device; a storing unit configured to store the related information; a determining unit configured to determine whether to perform authentication based on the related information in the storing unit or query the external authentication device for authentication when the authentication information receiving unit receives the user authentication information; and an authentication control unit configured to perform authentication based on the related information in the storing unit when the determining unit determines to perform authentication based on the related information, wherein, the authentication control unit is configured such that if the user authentication information currently received by the authentication information receiving unit is the same as previously received user authentication information and if the receiving unit has not received related information based on the previously received user authentication information, based on the currently received user authentication information, the authentication control unit sets an authentication status of the authentication control device to be a pending status.