HID Global, the US identity card and access control product company, announced its HID Trusted Tag Services. Combining trusted tags with cloud authentication services, HID says this confers everyday objects with unique and trusted identities that can be read by NFC-enabled mobile devices as part of IoT (the Internet of Things).
With NFC, smartphones and tablets can interact with everyday objects, whether tapping a “smart poster” to interact with a retail brand or authenticating the value of a luxury item or verifying the visit of a home help in a patient’s home.
Tags can be attached to or embedded into an object and then “tapped” by a smart device to communicate secure information. HID says this service does not require users to modify their devices or download apps; however, unlike traditional approaches QR codes or static NFC tags that are vulnerable to tag cloning and tampering, the data read from a trusted tag has security and privacy attributes that change on every tap, for a secure audit trail and making the taps uncloneable.
Marc Bielmann, vice president of Identification Technologies with HID Global, said: “By enabling smartphones to effortlessly double as tag readers and communicate with our authentication service, HID Global is helping organisations to easily expand into the IoT. HID Trusted Tag Services enable trusted transactions and instil confidence that individuals scanning the tags are both who and where they claim to be. The solution is based on the same proven technology used in online banking, and it is secure, trusted and easy to use.”
Tags can eliminate abuse of retail loyalty programs, gaming and sweepstakes campaigns connected to marketing displays by requiring consumers to interact with an authentic tag to generate an entry into a programme. In home healthcare, carers tap an authentic tag in a patient’s home, providing a record for healthcare agencies to use for billing. It also creates an audit trail should claims come under scrutiny.
