Vulnerability Assessment Team (VAT)

Product Authenticity Tags

Network: Roger Johnston on LinkedIn

The Argonne Vulnerability Assessment Team (VAT) has counterfeited a number of product anti-counterfeiting tags. This is usually quite easy to do.

In the VAT's view:

1. Existing tags aren't very good.
2. Better tags are possible.
3. Encryption typically has little or no meaningful role to play in determining product authenticity. It's often a red herring/smoke & mirrors.
4. RFIDs do not provide any meaningful security in and of themselves (because they are easy to clone and spoof), but can be useful for improving efficiency.
5. Virtual numeric tokens are a very attractive method for dealing with product counterfeiting, though this approach is typically ignored or misunderstood. See RG Johnston, “An Anti-Counterfeiting Strategy Using Numeric Tokens”, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Medicine 19, 163-171 (2005).
   Attractive attributes include:
   • Inexpensive & unobtrusive
   • Very difficult to counterfeit in large numbers
   • Can be automatically checked by wholesalers, retailers, or volume end users (with an inexpensive reader)
   • Can be checked by consumers (without a reader)
   • Typically detects more than 98% of the fakes examined
   • Effectiveness scales automatically with the level of concern
   • Does not become easier to defeat over time, or as technology advances
6. When virtual numeric tokens are used, they are often used incorrectly. We have compiled a list of 30 common mistakes. For more information, contact the VAT.

Last Modified: Thu, December 6, 2012 2:55 PM