Texas Instruments Sees PWC For Product Authentication

I envision pharmaceticals and high-value goods having some type of RFID tag(visible or not), that when scanned with a mobile device, will be authenticated in some protected database.

This is another example of physical world connection.

Texas Instruments advocates RFID authentication

While Texas Instruments is talking about this industry, there's another chip player that is providing an all-in-one solution.

With counterfeiting estimated to be a $450 billion industry worldwide, the need to protect product and brand integrity is set to become the new value proposition for RFID, according to a new white paper from Texas Instruments Incorporated.

RFID fights counterfeiting with an embedded electronic security marker, identifying a product or brand, that is automatically read as it passes through the supply chain either individually or as a group inside a shipping case.

An electronic security marker is a unique data code that by itself or in conjunction with a network, can distinguish the product as genuine. This marker is unique to the individual product and cannot be easily altered, providing an enhanced level of security.

2d codes are being used to help this problem, but secure database issues are a problem with this method. The key components are a "tag" that is either invisible or cannot be altered, and a secure database.