A method and apparatus for processing an electronic document in a secure manner is provided. A first facsimile machine may verify that the configuration state of a second facsimile machine has not changed since a prior configuration state by issuing a request to a security server. The security server may process the request to determine whether the configuration state of the second facsimile machine has changed since the second facsimile machine was registered with the security server. The security server may also verify that the first facsimile machine issued a facsimile request to the second facsimile machine or that the second facsimile machine received the request. A storage medium of a facsimile machine may be protected against unauthorized removal of the storage medium by storing a password required to access the storage medium, and when the facsimile machine is powered on, the password is provided to the storage medium.