Aug 12 2005
European researchers have joined the battle against crime and terrorism with techniques for carrying out foolproof fingerprinting on a wider range of everyday objects.
A unique 'fingerprint' formed by microscopic surface imperfections on almost all paper documents, plastic cards and packaging could be used as a cheaper, more efficient method to combat fraud, claim British scientists.
This inherent identity code is virtually impossible to modify and can be easily read using a low-cost portable laser scanner, according to research carried out at Imperial College London and Durham University, and published last week in the scientific journal Nature.
The researchers believe the technology could also be used in the fight against terrorism through the ability to secure passports, ID cards and 'breeder' documents, such as birth certificates used to obtain genuine passports.
All non-reflective surfaces have naturally occurring roughness that is a source of physical randomness. This could provide in-built security for a range of objects, such as passports, ID and credit cards, as well as pharmaceutical packaging, replacing more costly measures, such as holograms or security inks.
Russell Cowburn, professor of nanotechnology in Imperial College’s Physics Department, says their findings open the way to a new and much simpler approach to authentication and tracking. “This is a system so secure that not even the inventors would be able to crack it, since there is no known manufacturing process for copying surface imperfections at the necessary level of precision," he says.
Using the optical phenomenon of 'laser speckle', the materials scientists examined the fine structure of different surfaces using a focused laser, and recorded the intensity of the reflection. The technique was tried on different materials, including matt-finish plastic cards, identity cards and coated paperboard packaging, and resulted in clear recognition between the samples.
They were even able to identify samples after they were subjected to everyday rough handling, including submersion in water, scorching, scrubbing with an abrasive cleaning pad and being scribbled on with a thick black marker.
"The beauty of this system,” Cowburn notes, “is that there is no need to modify the item being protected in any way with tags, chips or inks – it's as if documents and packaging have their own unique DNA.” This makes protection covert, cheaper and more simple to integrate into the manufacturing process. What’s more, it is immune to attacks against the security feature itself.
The researchers are working to roll out this new technology, making it available to crime-fighting authorities across Europe and beyond. Indeed, at the European level, through its Sixth Research Framework Programme (FP6), the EU is investing substantial sums into materials sciences to develop ‘Nanotechnologies and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, and new production processes and devices’.
For more information about forensics, the Research Directorate-General’s communications unit has produced a Research in Action leaflet on what forensic scientists and the EU are doing to combat cross-border criminal activity.
http://europa.eu.int