SecureRF Releases RFID Tag with Onboard Security Features

April 16, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

The battery-assisted passive tag uses the company's security technology that authenticates and encrypts data communications on the tag itself - an industry first, according to SecureRF.

It is an item-level solution that is designed to provide tamperproof data storage on the tag and ensures privacy by allowing only authorized readers access to sensitive information.

The LIME Tag will also help pharmaceutical manufacturers and other cold chain distributors track and monitor product temperature history.

The company's LIME Tag is based on SecureRF and industry standard security protocols. SecureRF's solutions include integration technology that allows its tags to be used with most of today's Gen 2 compliant readers without the need for firmware upgrades, said SecureRF.

This will allow currently deployed systems to easily upgrade to a fully secured supply chain with little cost or change to their network.

"Unlike other solutions in the industry that simply put encrypted data on a tag, making them easily copied or cloned, our technology makes the tag an active participant in authenticating and protecting its contents," said Louis Parks, founder and CEO of SecureRF.

One of the company's first industry deployments will be in the pharmaceutical supply chain. SecureRF said that manufacturers and distributors can use the authentication and data protection features of the LIME Tag to address problems of drug counterfeiting by using a range of recognized cryptographic methods to create an unalterable electronic "seal."

Current estimates put the cost of drug counterfeiting at more than $40B, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The U.S. is ranked sixth on the world's top 10 countries for counterfeit drug seizures/discoveries, according to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI) 2005 Situational Report.

The LIME Tag also includes a temperature sensor. It is designed to address cold chain management issues by monitoring and securely recording an item-level temperature history. Tracking temperature sensitive, high value pharmaceuticals and biologicals from production to use is critical to ensuring drug safety and efficacy, said SecureRF.

"We see a growing need for strong (radio frequency identification) RFID security solutions in several areas including high value supply chain, asset management and border security … ," said Michael Liard, research director, RFID and contactless, ABI Research.

The SecureRF solution is also designed to provide strong privacy protection for consumers and will help address Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy requirements. The SecureRF LIME Tag is designed to protect privacy by preventing unauthorized reading of the information in the tag with strong authentication, something today"s RFID tags cannot do, said SecureRF.

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SecureRF's first secure tag, a battery-assisted passive tag that supports EPCglobal Class 1 Generation 2 standards, is available for industry pilots. The company plans to add secure passive and active tags to its product offering in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Source: SecureRF Corp.