Patent ID: 8656450

Claim:
A security policy server comprising: a policy information memory device that stores policy setting information and identification information of a policy in correspondence to each other, the policy setting information including a setting content of the policy and identification information of a user to whom the policy is attached; a data information memory device that stores identification information of data for which a policy is set and identification information of the policy attached to the data in correspondence to each other; a security policy responding device that searches security policy data registered in a security policy database in response to an inquiry, the inquiry having document identification information and user identification information as search conditions, and creates a summary list of security policies that match the search conditions in the inquiry, the summary list of security policies being used to designate the identification information of the policy which is to be switched; and a policy switching processing device that switches, in response to a switching request designating identification information of data, for which the policy is to be switched, and identification information of a user instructing the switch, the policy attached to the data by updating only the identification information of the policy attached to the data stored in the data information memory device with identification information of a policy to be switched to; said policy switching processing device permitting switching of the policy attached to the data only when operations permitted based on the policy attached to the data include policy switching.