Case Study – Blockchain And NFC Create Tamper-proof Product Authentication Ecosystem

NFC In Action

Annual sales of counterfeit goods total a staggering $1.7 trillion worldwide impacting confidence and product sales. collectID’s solution to this problem is to combine blockchain with NFC technology to create a complete product authentication ecosystem allowing every user to easily authenticate and trade any product by simply tapping the smartphone on the item.  The Switzerland-based company provides products a unique identity based on its characteristics (e.g., watches) or a collectID NFC chip embedded into the product (e.g., sneaker).  The unique identity of a product gets connected to a token that is safely stored on the blockchain forever.

How collectID Works

When a product is equipped with a collectID NFC chip, the chip provides a unique, secure authentication message that changes with each interaction. This makes it impossible to duplicate the message. Since the chip has a tamper-resistant design, it destructs in the event of foul play. With a simple tap on their mobile device, users can check the authenticity of a product and register ownership via the collectID app — then the items appear in their personal collections.

When reselling a product, users can safely transfer item ownership via the collectID app; meaning brands, for the first time in history, can earn money from secondary trading

Learn More About NFC With Blockchain And Other Technologies

With collectID, brands and shops can connect their message directly to products, increasing customer engagement by extending the shopping experience. Brands also receive detailed data and analytics about both primary and secondary markets.

In short, collectID helps create an ecosystem that can remove the financial incentives and scalability of selling counterfeited products.

Technical Situation And The Importance Of NFC

collectID provides solutions for brands and resellers to equip their products with NFC tags at the factory, at the point of sale (POS), or at special authentication stations. Different types of NFC tags were specially developed for specific uses and product types. For example, when integrated at a factory, the tags had to be sewn into clothes and shoes. At POS or special authentication stations, soft, tamper-proof sticker and loop tags were required for shoes and bags; rigid, tamper-proof sticker tags were required for pieces of art, bikes, and wine bottles; and card tags were required for warranty cards for watches.

collectID used NFC Forum members Identiv’s NTAG 424 DNA Tags with NXP’s secure authentication chip to provide a secure and efficient method of digitally connecting products. NTAG^® 424 DNA and 424 DNA TagTamper earned tag certification proving full conformance with NFC Forum specifications, making Identiv the first transponder manufacturer to receive NFC Forum certification.

Find Out How To Get Your Product Certified

collectID tags leverage the native security mechanism within the attack-resistant Common Criteria EAL4 certified chip and are designed for use in secure IoT applications, including anticounterfeiting for brand protection, document authentication, secure supply chain traceability (i.e., product origin and provenance), authorized data access, and trusted customer engagement, including loyalty programs.

collectID’s solution works with all NFC-enabled devices, including Android and iOS, and supports real-time authentication based on AES-128 encryption, similar to one-time tokens.

Check out more great NFC solutions in the NFC Forum Product Showcase.