News releases: Countering the counterfeiters – smart technology to secure product supply chains May, 26, 2010 Countering the counterfeiters -- smart technology to secure product supply chains June 11, 2010 The SToP project aims at developing ambient intelligence-based and network-oriented systems for the efficient and secure authentication of products. It thereby helps to reduce the problems imposed by counterfeiting and product privacy. An important building block is the duality of existence, in the physical and the virtual world, for the secure authentication of products. The technological foundation is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which allows secure tagging, reliable and easy-to-use identification, and dynamic authentication. The RFID label itself serves both as a security feature and as a bridge between the physical and the virtual, i.e. digital, world. The objective of the SToP project is to create a solution for product authentication, which satisfies a complex set of requirements. The solution must be secure, meaning that tags are protected against manipulations and they must not be cloneable. Security is further supported through the tracking capabilities provided by RFID. It must be user-friendly and cost-effective, being usable by a wide range of parties such as manufacturers, vendors, customs authorities, and consumers. This helps to detect counterfeit goods as early as possible or even prevent them from entering into the supply chain in the first place. As a network-based solution, it supports the alignment and information of stakeholders. It encourages information sharing on counterfeiting related problems and promotes closer cooperation. It improves communication with consumers, providing them with better ways of risk mitigation and education. Final SToP Conference - presentations available... Lessons learned from the SToP project