Distribution of a certificate and a private key via a network includes a certificate/private key storage unit by which a certificate and a private key prepared for distribution to one or more devices are stored; a security level storage unit by which a security level for each device belonging to a device group is stored; and a display/instruction unit by which a selection screen prompting a user to select one or more devices from the device group is displayed. An instruction for the selection made by the user is received; and a certificate/private key distribution unit by which, via the network, the certificate and the private key for each device are distributed to the one or multiple devices for which the instruction for selection was made. For each device, the selection screen displays the device security level.