RFID & NFC Technologies

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Tackling Counterfeit Products
3. Supply Chain Protection & Product Authentication using RFID/NFC
4. RFID Application on Metals
5. Companies with RFID/NFC Based Solutions
6. Market Insights (India & World)
7. References
8. Bonus: Protect Cloning of RFID/NFC Tags

This document outlines about RFID & NFC technologies, how they can be used for counterfeit product
identification & their usage on metals. It also provides information about companies operating in the
domain & market insights.

1. Introduction

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) NFC (Near-field Communication)

It’s a technology that helps to identify tagged It’s a branch of High Frequency RFID which uses
items using radio waves ​without requiring any line magnetic field induction to enable communication
of sight between the tags and tag reader. ​RFID between devices when they're in proximity.
tags can be either Active or Passive.

Popular Uses Popular Uses

● Asset tracking ● Information sharing b/w phones

● Inventory management ● Contactless payment
● Access control ● Smart posters
● Attendee tracking
 2. Tackling Counterfeit Products

Counterfeiting of products is an illicit practice which poses huge threats to brands, manufacturing
industries & global economy. It was reported by ASPA that around Rs 40,000 crore counterfeit products in
India [ a ]. Active presence of fake products in market creates brand aversion. 86% of consumers want
brands to protect them from fakes [MarkMonitor 2017].

Current anti-counterfeit technologies are categorized as: 1) Overt, visible features like holograms 2)
Covert, hidden markers like QR codes 3) Forensic techniques; 4) Serialization/ Track-and-Trace systems.
Track-and-trace method is outstanding in combating counterfeit given its ability to protect the whole
supply chain against infiltration.

3. Supply Chain Protection & Product Authentication using RFID/NFC

RFID solution offers more comprehensive way to safeguard brand identity with its multi-pronged approach
that includes authentication, track-and-trace, and tamper evidence. With RFID, an individual item can be
identified allowing to determine its location, review its chain of custody (when it its transferred or sold),
and monitor health of products [ b ].

Wireless RFID tags with memory chips store informations which can be encrypted. Additionally, tags can
have unique identifiers (UID), which essentially give each item its own unique DNA. This makes it easier
to track an item on its way through the supply chain and, at the same time, verify authenticity.

While RFID readers are more industry oriented, NFC tags are quite suitable for end-consumer products.
Customers can authenticate & interact with a NFC-tagged product by simply tapping against a
smartphone [ c,d ].

4. RFID Application on Metals

Mounting or embedding RFID tags on metal body is complex proposition. They reflect energy emitted
from RFID readers & create interference for tag antennas such that the tag isn’t able to receive power and
transmit information. But recent advancements have allowed RFID to work when attached to metal
surfaces and even embedded within metal products [ e ].

Few industries using metals mount tags:

- Asset & tool tracking in Medical devices
- Laptops & servers in IT
- Industrial manufacturing
- Vehicle tracking identification
- Oil & gas pipelines

Types of tags for metal surfaces:

- Hard Tags: Can be affixed to metal surfaces ensuring a more permanent hold [ f ].
- Embeddable Tags: Are embedded within metal objects during point of manufacturing. This type of
tags are useful in healthcare & industries where tracking of smaller tools are required.
- Printable & Flexible Tags: These can be attached directly to metal surfaces with adhesive [ g ].
 5. Companies with RFID/NFC Based Solutions

Companies in India
Company Location Solution URL Founded
Digital Anti-Counterfeit https://www.noostechnolo
NOOS tech Bangalore Solution gies.com/ 2017
https://idsolutionsindia.co
ID Tech Gurgaon Mount on Metal RFID Tag m/ 2002

TresBu Tech Bangalore http://tresbu.com/ 2011

Asset Management, Supply

Identium Delhi chain management https://identium.in/ 2010
https://www.aisces.com/an
Aisces Noida CHEQBRAND ti-counterfeit/

Companies around World

Company Location Solution URL Founded
Traceology (De La Product Authentication https://www.delarue.com/authe
Rue) US Solution ntication-solutions-traceology 1813
RFID/NFC
OpSec US authentication label https://www.opsecsecurity.com/ 1983

12 digit authentication
Certilogo US number & QRcode https://www.certilogo.com/ 2006
Blue Bite US NFC, RFID Tag https://www.bluebite.com/ 2007
Product Authentication
CapSeal (Bayer) US Solution https://capseal.bayer.com/
NFC & RFID Tags on https://www.smartrac-group.co
Smartrac Europe Metal m/ 2000
Product Authentication
TechRock China App https://rock.tech/

Technology patents:

TresBu Technologies: WO2013121356A2 (Near field communication (nfc) based counterfeit product
identification system)
Certilogo: EP2003607A1 (System and computer process for checking and monitoring the circulation of
products and services)
 6. Market Insights (India & World)

RFID market India (ReportLinker) Global (MarketsandMarkets)

CAGR forecast 25% 7.7%

Duration 2013 - 2018 2017 - 2023

Market valuation NA USD 31.5 Billion by 2023

Data includes tags, readers and software/services for RFID labels, cards, fobs and all other form factors,
for both passive and active RFID

India Anti-Counterfeit packaging Technologies Market Forecasts 2016-2026 (AGR%) [ h ]

Globally Tags Used (2018) [ i ] Units

Total tags 16.4 Billion

Apparel Industry 8 Billion (10% of total industry)

Contactless cards 2.2 Billion

Animal tagging 0.5 Billion

References

a) https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/counterfeit-
market-in-india-worth-over-rs-40000-crore-aspa/63360820
b) https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/brochure/75017595.pdf
c) https://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?11021
d) https://medium.com/blue-bite/the-end-of-counterfeiting-2257ccad8614
e) https://blog.atlasrfidstore.com/rfid-tags-on-metal-surfaces
f) https://www.atlasrfidstore.com/confidex-ironside-rfid-tag/
g) https://www.atlasrfidstore.com/omni-id/?utm_source=blog.atlasrfidstore.com&utm_mediu
m=referral&utm_campaign=%28not+set%29&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlasrf
idstore.com%2FOmni_ID_RFID_Tags_s%2F119.htm
h) https://www.visiongain.com/report/anti-counterfeit-packaging-technologies-market-report-
2016-2026/
i) https://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/rfid-forecasts-players-and-opportunities-2018-
2028-000642.asp
j) https://www.noostechnologies.com/tracking-duplicates/
k) https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5e76/132046f452ff053950948140623a20b74afc.pdf
l) https://www.zealseal.com/

Bonus: Protect Cloning of RFID/NFC Tags

Given that counterfeiters already put considerable effort for cloning the products, they could invest extra
for cloning these tags. Non-clonable or single-write RFID or NFC have been developed which prevents
re-write and thereby reuse of the same tag [ j ].

● Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) is a technology which uses two pronged method of ​Physical
& Cryptographic​ protection to prevent cloning of tags [ k ].
● ZealSeal™ uses dynamically changing tag ids. Every time a consumer scans the tag, its ID is
verified against secure server. If the tag was found authentic, product information is returned to
the consumer, along with a new ID that replaces its precedent on the scanned tag. Even if a
counterfeiter is successful in cloning the tag bit-to-bit, that tag would be invalidated as soon as
the authentic tag is scanned by the next consumer [ l ].