Anti-counterfeiting using memory spots

Abstract

We propose a new hardware and software solution for anti-counterfeiting that puts product authentication directly into the hands of end-users, enabling them to be confident of the authenticity of a product regardless of the integrity of the distribution chain. This is made possible by a new type of tamper-resistant hardware chip, called "memory spot", which has a unique combination of small size, very fast on-air data rate, relatively large memory, and integrated security features, in conjunction with a novel authentication protocol. In addition, the low cost of these new chips makes our proposed solution even more compelling than possible alternatives. Example applications include pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting, asset tracking, secure-ID, brand protection and warranty fraud prevention. We will take pharmaceutical anti-counterfeiting as an example to explain our solution. A prototype system has been built to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system. © 2009 Springer.