Patent ID: 8689305

Claim:
A first information processing apparatus comprising: a processor and a memory storing computer code that, when executed by the processor, performs the following steps: making a user authentication request to a second information processing apparatus after execution of user authentication processing to thereby execute a job operation via the second information processing apparatus in accordance with a user authentication processing result obtained by the second information processing apparatus; converting, by a first conversion unit, user authentication information to a conversion value; storing, in a storage unit, first authentication reference information including at least a first conversion value that is a conversion value of user authentication information converted by the first conversion unit; inputting, by an input unit, user authentication information; and performing, by an authentication unit, user authentication processing based on the input user authentication information and a conversion value of user authentication information included in the first authentication reference information stored in the storage unit, and when the conversion result of the input user authentication information by the first conversion unit coincides with the first conversion value, determining that user authentication has been successful and adding a second conversion value that is a conversion value of the user authentication information by a second conversion unit to the first authentication reference information, wherein the authentication unit queries the second information processing apparatus whether the second information processing apparatus performs user authentication processing using either the first conversion value or the second conversion value, wherein, when the authentication unit obtains a query result from the second information processing apparatus which indicates that the second information processing apparatus performs user authentication processing using the first conversion value, the authentication unit performs user authentication processing using the first conversion value, encrypts the second conversion value using an encryption key corresponding to the second information processing apparatus, and sends the encrypted second conversion value to the second information processing apparatus to make the second information processing apparatus store the second conversion value to control so that subsequent user authentication processing is performed using the stored second conversion value, and wherein, when the authentication unit obtains a query result from the second information processing apparatus which indicates that the second information processing apparatus performs user authentication processing using the second conversion value, the authentication unit controls so that the user authentication processing is performed using the second conversion value without using the first conversion value.