"Micro and nanotechnology to enhance the physical security of credentials and products"
Presented by Adrian Burden from Bilcare Research, NonClonable Security Technologies. This was presented at Queen Elizabeth II conference Centre, Westminster, London UK, dated 8-10 of February 2010.
Micro and nanotechnology to enhance the physical security of credentials and products
1. Micro and nanotechnology to enhance the physical security of credentials and products Adrian Burden
2. Passport fraud is the 'biggest threat facing the world', claims Interpol Published Date: 29 January 2010 "The greatest threat in the world is that last year there were 500m, half a billion, international air arrivals worldwide where travel documents were not compared against Interpol databases, Right now in our database we have over 11 million stolen or lost passports.” Secretary-General of Interpol Ronald Noble, at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, 28 Jan 2010.
3. Overview Introduction to counterfeiting Documents / ID credentials and products Introduction to micro and nanotechnology Materials science and engineering on the small scale Applying micro and nanotechnology to security Enhancing security, providing multiple layers Examples of technologies Conclusion
10. Trends with documents, and now products Sophistication of counterfeiters increasing Advanced printing, advanced manufacturing Counterfeiting a high value / high volume business From currency / ID, thru’ medicines / spare parts, to shampoo Fraud and counterfeiting is an organized crime Funds large operations, including child-labour / terrorism The need for multiple layers overt, covert, forensic
11. Some facts and figures Passports & fraud: Fraud costs the UK economy an estimated £20bn a year 1 Currency: 2.5% (1 in 40, or may be 1 in 20) pound coins are fake in UK 2 Pharmaceutical Fastest growing customs seizures – 10% 2008 for US Customs 3 Fashion: Fake shoes the most common category – 38% / $102m seized 3 1 BBC report 28th July 2009 news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8171325.stm 2 BBC report 8th April 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7988001.stm 3 Washington Post, 20th Nov 2009 – Crackdown targets counterfeit drugs
13. Introduction to nanotechnology Controlling materials at the small size scale 1 nm is 0.000 000 001 m (1 atom is ~0.1 nm, hair width = ~200,000 nm) Much hype about ‘grey goo’ and ‘swarms’ Reality is of specialist materials with unique properties Is impacting coatings, catalysts, electronics, mechanics… Is applied to packaging, energy, manufacturing, security…
14. Advantages of nanotechnology Advanced technology High tech fabrication provides barrier to copying Small details make reproduction difficult Small size ideal for covert / forensic marking Issues Authenticating ‘nano-tags’ can be difficult / expensive Expense of commercial quantities of nanomaterials Yield / reproducibility in mass production Toxicity / compatibility There are many approaches with distinct advantages and disadvantages
15. Optical Quantum confinement effects Specific wavelengths of light Covert security – watermark / analogous to uvink Examples of companies and products www.nanosysinc.com (with Life Technologies) www.oxonica.com www.evidenttech.com www.nanocotechnologies.com
16. Molecular / chemical Taggants, chemicals and molecular markers Specialist detection equipment Covert and / or forensic For solids and liquids Examples of companies Nanobarcodes (was from Nanoplex / Oxonica) www.microtracesolutions.com www.adnas.com www.nanoguardian.net
17. Textural / morphology Small-scale features Intrinsic micro and nanostructure - disordered ‘Fingerprint’ of paper, package, substrate, etc Area needs to be locatable and aligned Infrastructure For authentication But also track and trace
18. Magnetic Features Advantages Invisible signature with small feature size Reliable low-cost read-heads available Fast reading possible Can be made extremely robust Magnetic inks and watermarks possible Disadvantages Added to item (not usually intrinsic) Detector / Reader required
19. Bilcare’snonClonableTM system DATA RECORD 1.Scanned barcode & fingerprint send to server 3.Information from Brand Owner to Forward to Source 4. Customized Information Sent Back to User 2. Secure Query of Brand Owner Server Bilcare’s Secure Clearing House Data Server Brand Owner Server See more at stand E21
20. Conclusions Document security and brand protection converging Multiple layers required Overt, Covert and Forensic solutions Micro and Nanotechnology Physical materials-technology to provide some of these layers Higher barriers to counterfeiting Enhanced complexity and security Range of approaches – taggants, dyes, markers, structures IT and central database systems playing a larger role