Cryptographic Duo Codes for Product Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Globalization has increased opportunities for product counterfeiting and diversion, as counterfeit goods are often packaged to resemble legitimate products, making it difficult to detect switches or replacements of components.
Innovation Solution
The use of cryptographically linked codes, where a series of bits includes a switch bit with different values in encrypted codes, generating pairs of cipher texts that appear unrelated but correlate upon decryption, for product authentication by marking products and their components with these codes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional single code authentication is used, then the authentication system is simple, but it is vulnerable to counterfeiting and component switching
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication code is segmented into multiple components: an outer code applied to the product packaging and an inner code applied to the product itself or its components. This segmentation allows independent verification of both the packaging integrity and the product authenticity, preventing counterfeiting and component switching by requiring both codes to match and be valid.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If cryptographic linking of codes is implemented, then counterfeiting detection is improved, but the encoding and verification process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses parameter changes in the form of switch bits within the code structure. By toggling specific bits in the code sequence, the system creates cryptographically linked outer and inner codes that can be verified against each other. This approach provides strong anti-counterfeiting protection through mathematical relationships while keeping the implementation relatively simple, as it builds upon existing barcode or data matrix code technologies.
3Measurement precision
If switch bits are used to create cryptographically linked codes, then code correlation is enhanced, but the code structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than complicating the entire code structure, the invention applies local quality by introducing switch bits at specific positions within the code sequence. These localized modifications create the cryptographic link between outer and inner codes while leaving the rest of the code structure simple and compatible with existing scanning and reading technologies. This ensures high correlation accuracy without excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided that employ two or more cryptographically linked codes. The codes, when encrypted, become cipher texts that appear unrelated. The codes described herein are characterized by a series of bits including one or more switch bits. The cipher text of a code having a switch bit in one state will appear to be unrelated to the cipher text of another code differing only in that the switch bit is in the opposite state. The cryptographically linked codes can be used in various combinations, such as on a product and its packaging, on a product and a component of the product, on a certificate packaged with the product and on the packaging, or on outer and inner packagings of the product.