Patent ID: 7032813

Claim:
A security system, comprising: an administrative server connected to a network and operative to administrate the network; an office instrument connected to the network and operative to perform at least one of printing, scanning, and copying, the office instrument being arranged and configured to attach a security tag to such a printed, scanned, or copied document, the security tag having security data unique to the document, and to transmit image data of the document together with the attached security tag to the administrative server; and a user terminal connected to the network and arranged to instruct the office instrument to perform one of the printing, scanning and copying; wherein the administrative server is arranged and configured to store image data for various security required documents and corresponding attached security tags in a memory, to compare incoming document image data and security tags collectively transmitted from the office instrument with the various document image data and corresponding security tags stored in the memory to obtain a comparison result, and transmit the comparison result to the office instrument, and wherein the office instrument is arranged and configured to receive the comparison result and determine whether to allow or reject a subsequent one of the printing, scanning and copying of a respective document in accordance with the comparison result.