The key is in the glue on the back of the tag.A couple of years back, MIT researchers created a cryptographic ID tag that is numerous times smaller and significantly more affordable than the conventional radio frequency tags (RFIDs) that are typically attached to items to validate their authenticity.This tiny tag, which offers better security over RFIDs, uses terahertz waves, which are smaller and have much higher frequencies than radio waves. This terahertz tag shared a significant security vulnerability with conventional RFIDs: A counterfeiter could peel the tag off a real item and reattach it to a phony, and the authentication system would be none the wiser.The researchers have now surmounted this security vulnerability by leveraging terahertz waves to develop an antitampering ID tag that still provides the benefits of being small, inexpensive, and secure.Enhanced Security With Terahertz WavesThey mix microscopic metal particles into the glue that sticks the tag to an item, and then utilize terahertz waves to identify the unique pattern those particles form on the products surface. To attain this, the scientists targeted the glue at the user interface in between the tag and the items surface.Their antitampering tag includes a series of small slots that allow terahertz waves to pass through the tag and strike tiny metal particles that have been blended into the glue.Terahertz waves are small sufficient to detect the particles, whereas bigger radio waves would not have enough sensitivity to see them.
A cryptographic tag developed at MIT utilizes terahertz waves to verify products by recognizing the unique pattern of microscopic metal particles that are blended into the glue that sticks the tag to the products surface area. The secret is in the glue on the back of the tag.A few years earlier, MIT scientists created a cryptographic ID tag that is a number of times smaller and significantly less expensive than the standard radio frequency tags (RFIDs) that are frequently attached to items to confirm their authenticity.This small tag, which uses better security over RFIDs, uses terahertz waves, which are smaller sized and have much higher frequencies than radio waves. This terahertz tag shared a significant security vulnerability with traditional RFIDs: A counterfeiter might peel the tag off a genuine product and reattach it to a phony, and the authentication system would be none the wiser.The researchers have actually now surmounted this security vulnerability by leveraging terahertz waves to develop an antitampering ID tag that still offers the benefits of being small, inexpensive, and secure.Enhanced Security With Terahertz WavesThey mix tiny metal particles into the glue that sticks the tag to a things, and then use terahertz waves to identify the special pattern those particles form on the items surface. To attain this, the scientists targeted the glue at the interface in between the item and the tags surface.Their antitampering tag contains a series of small slots that make it possible for terahertz waves to pass through the tag and strike tiny metal particles that have been blended into the glue.Terahertz waves are small enough to identify the particles, whereas bigger radio waves would not have sufficient level of sensitivity to see them.”One drawback is that we had a minimal information sample for this demonstration, however we could improve the neural network in the future if a large number of these tags were released in a supply chain, offering us a lot more information samples,” Lee says.The authentication system is also limited by the reality that terahertz waves suffer from high levels of loss during transmission, so the sensing unit can just be about 4 centimeters from the tag to get an accurate reading.
