"Tiny, Battery-Free ID Chip Can Help Combat Losses to Counterfeiting"

According to a report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the estimated value of counterfeit goods sold worldwide will reach $2 trillion in 2020. The counterfeiting of goods impacts the consumers and companies that build products, using parts ordered from different parts of the world. The origins and authenticity of counterfeit goods are difficult to verify because of the complex routes used to deliver the assets. Companies have turned to wireless ID tags to authenticate assets as they are exchanged at checkpoints. However, there are size, cost, energy, and security tradeoffs associated with these tags. Some RFID tags do not have strong security measures. Other RFID tags come with built-in encryption schemes to prevent cloning and hacking but are too bulky and energy-inefficient. Radio-frequency communication and strong encryption are sacrificed when the tags are shrunk. MIT researchers have developed a millimeter-sized ID chip that addresses those tradeoffs. The low-energy chip uses a cryptography scheme that ensures secure communications. This article continues to discuss the cost of counterfeit goods, the limitations of popular RFID tags, and the ID chip built by MIT researchers to combat supply chain counterfeiting. 

TechXplore reports "Tiny, Battery-Free ID Chip Can Help Combat Losses to Counterfeiting"