In the olden days, secret documents and important papers and envelopes were sealed with hot wax that had been embossed with the author's signature or signet ring. This seal not only authenticated the sender's mail, but if the wax had been broken in transit, the document could no longer be considered secure. The owner of the ring usually did not remove the ring allowing free access, but if the ring was removed to be used by another person, it was a statement of absolute trust and a means for recognizing the delegated authority.
The rule in force was that the letter or document was to be hand-delivered directly to the person intended and that once the seal was broken, the seal could not be reused. One could imagine someone reclaiming the remnants of a broken wax seal and constructing a matching signet much like creating a wax impression of a key. So, in the end, it was not really that secure.
Document security and authenticity is a major concern. Disinformation via phony documents is one of the main intelligence tools used today. How does the recipient know that the document he has in his hands was the one sent by the designer, the contractor, the lawyer, or any other person having the originating authority? How does a company know that the certifications of compliance are genuine, and not counterfeit? The answer is RFID tagging.
The RFID tag need not be visible, as it can be printed in between pressed pages that at first glance look like a single sheet of paper. If anyone tries to tamper with the tag, the document is destroyed. This hearkens back to the wax seal on secret documents, but this seal is made in such a way that no two are ever alike. Also, the tag can be encrypted and locked so that only authorized recipients can read them. RFID tags are not costly, and they provide document authentication for packages, contractual agreements, official schedules, or any other critical materials that require certification of genuine origin.
Counterfeiters do not just counterfeit products. They forge packaging, logo, labels, compliance certificate, shipping documents, transit, and customs documents. Covert RFID tagging may be the best answer to resolving this problem. If my package has the authorized tag data embedded in the shipping document, label, package contents, and other official documents, then I can be 99.99 percent sure that what I received what ordered. Now when the RFID cloud is up and running, I will be able to keep a historical archive of everything I ordered and received from all vendors that use the RFID technology.
I can foresee a day when I hold up my document to a RFID-enabled display that recognizes the presence of an RFID tag. In less than a second, the smart display will access the cloud and authenticate the document. It is just a matter of software, optics, and computer power. Why not? If the application becomes ubiquitous, then my mobile phone, laptop, and tablet will detect a spam document and filter it out before my email receives it.
I am talking about a personal, digital signet ring that will provide the authentication that any email I send has come from me and not from a source using my email address. The RFID tagging of documents has earned my seal of approval. Let's see if our next-gen laptops will include RFID readers and software.
RFID in the cloud--what a great idea. (Clearly, I havene't been using my brain recently.) One of the things holding RFID back, I believe, is the investment in equipment. The cloud would minimize that...and a scanning app on a smartphone...solves a lot of issues. I wonder if the costs are reduced enough, electronics compnaies will start using RFID on components? Or is that still a non-starter?
@Barbara, when you consider convergence as a key product feature determination, then matching up wireless with Internet and mobile and software and all the other rapidly emerging technologies, pretty much is fueling our acceleration towards an all digital future. By that I mean, as our knowledge becomes more additive from a multi vectoring point of view, then our velocity towards a realized sci-fy like existance increases at an exponential pace. Technology is determining us as we will conform to whatever it takes to get the most out of our technologies. Ask yourself how much different are we from 10 years ago? How much of that is due to technology, and what technologies we have become completely dependent upon? The more dependent we become on anything, the less freedom we have and the fewer are the choices we can make.
Well, not to say I am absolutely right, but the feeling, in general, is RFID deployment has faced some issues and reduction with the advent of 2D-code and features inside smartphones which have replaced, sometimes, RFID reader terminals. Of course, between techs, there is still a gap.
I cannot really understand how an encrypted RFID tag will prevent a person from reading the information written on a piece of paper.
I presume when the information on a tag is secured, its content cannot be read back and copied onto another tag. That is the only way RFID tags can be used as a secure medium for authentication.
Going back to the hardcopy protection, let's think that each page of a 200 page document was protected by the "RFID paper". In that case, in order to ensure the authenticity of each page, the reader would have to read the tag on each page to verify the author, which to me sounds like a big overhead. There is also the cost associated with the RFID paper and the programming of the secure tags when the document is produced. I am not sure if this method will be practical enough to be used by everyone.
In my opinion RFID tagging is good for all things physical -small or large. Intel has even embedded RFID tags in their new processors as a check against counterfeiting.
But for electronic documents something like PKI is an appropriate security . RFID will create an unnecessary overhead for such documents as email attachments.
"I cannot really understand how an encrypted RFID tag will prevent a person from reading the information written on a piece of paper."
@Cryptoman: I don't think the RFID tags are designed to prevent someone from reading the documents. The idea is to ensure that the original document cannot be forged and a fake copy cannot be made from it. As far as the cost is involved, yes I agree that there will be a significant cost as every page will need to have it's own tag.
@Mr Roques: The RFID tags will be used to secure physical copies of the document. As Doughlas said, the tags will be embedded within two sheets of paper and will be read through an RFID reader.
Machine-to-machine technology is growing so rapidly that one report says there could be 10 billion connected devices by 2016. That's a big market opportunity.
RFID makes it possible not only to increase the quantity and types of products streaming through the supply chain, but also to build higher-level products and services.
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Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
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