 |
THE WORLD'S RFID AUTHORITY
 PREMIUM = Requires Subscription. Learn MoreRFID Journal Blog
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RSS Feed
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RECENT ENTRIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
U.S. Agency Plans Navigation System for the Blind
Checkpoint Makes a Bold Move
The NFC Debate Continues
Integris Health Gets RFID
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to the article, an examination of the case revealed Euro Gulf's "link to a complex supply chain of fake drugs that ran from China through Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the Bahamas, ultimately leading to an Internet pharmacy whose American customers believed they were buying medicine from Canada."
The Times report focused on the role of free trade zones, and how counterfeiters exploit them to hide where counterfeit drugs originated, or to "make, market or relabel adulterated products." But what struck me about the article was just how global the counterfeiting business has become. Counterfeiting is not just Pfizer's problem, or Merck's. This is not an issue California can solve on its own with its pedigree law. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can't solve this issue alone.
To crack down on drug counterfeiters—and those who make knockoffs of designer jeans, sneakers, handbags and other luxury items—will take a coordinated global effort. Radio frequency identification could help. I'm not suggesting the United Nations issue an RFID mandate—but governments could begin to fund anti-counterfeiting projects and determine how e-pedigrees and auto-identification technologies could be used to track shipments and ensure their legitimacy. And they could begin discussions on possible global standards for identifying and authenticating international drug shipments.
Counterfeiting is everyone's problem—whether you make an item valuable enough to be copied, or you buy such an item. And it's the problem of any government that is supposed to protect the health of the public and uphold anti-counterfeiting laws. With the technology we have today—not just RFID, but 2-D bar codes, GPS and secure documents—it should be possible, if there is a coordinated global effort, to track shipments and do a much better job of preventing criminals from using the legitimate supply chain to sell their bogus wares. That's what we should be aiming for.
The Times report focused on the role of free trade zones, and how counterfeiters exploit them to hide where counterfeit drugs originated, or to "make, market or relabel adulterated products." But what struck me about the article was just how global the counterfeiting business has become. Counterfeiting is not just Pfizer's problem, or Merck's. This is not an issue California can solve on its own with its pedigree law. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can't solve this issue alone.
Counterfeiting is everyone's problem—whether you make an item valuable enough to be copied, or you buy such an item. And it's the problem of any government that is supposed to protect the health of the public and uphold anti-counterfeiting laws. With the technology we have today—not just RFID, but 2-D bar codes, GPS and secure documents—it should be possible, if there is a coordinated global effort, to track shipments and do a much better job of preventing criminals from using the legitimate supply chain to sell their bogus wares. That's what we should be aiming for.
8 Comments
A global community
I couldn't agree more. Thanks for the input
Posted By: Mark Roberti 2/28/08 at 11:57 AM
I couldn't agree more. Thanks for the input
Posted By: Mark Roberti 2/28/08 at 11:57 AM
A Uniform, Universal System
It is a fallacy to continue thinking that counterfeiting and theft will disappear without a system that incorporates a "Primary Linking Key" across all disparate "information silos". Many have tried over the past 60 years, including many, many forms of encryption technologies and many, many covert packaging ideas. Until the global business community adopts. Systems like the NMVTIS; the VIS; the paper drug pedigree program; etc. have all failed because they lack the mathematical connection and specificity realized by creating the Primary Key between business IT Systems. The best example to date of this success is the EPCglobal/GS1 System and the DoD' UID System. They work. But everyone in the business community must belong -- "it takes a village to raise a child" - and it takes a global business community to raise a system, wherever, and whatever that community is.
Posted By: RERJr 2/28/08 at 6:57 AM
It is a fallacy to continue thinking that counterfeiting and theft will disappear without a system that incorporates a "Primary Linking Key" across all disparate "information silos". Many have tried over the past 60 years, including many, many forms of encryption technologies and many, many covert packaging ideas. Until the global business community adopts. Systems like the NMVTIS; the VIS; the paper drug pedigree program; etc. have all failed because they lack the mathematical connection and specificity realized by creating the Primary Key between business IT Systems. The best example to date of this success is the EPCglobal/GS1 System and the DoD' UID System. They work. But everyone in the business community must belong -- "it takes a village to raise a child" - and it takes a global business community to raise a system, wherever, and whatever that community is.
Posted By: RERJr 2/28/08 at 6:57 AM
Patented RFID Item Level Tagging Process
I think that counterfeiting is a major problem in the pharmaceutical, retail, electronics, automotive and aerospace industries. I feel that RFID we be a major plus for combating the problem. My company Barcode Security Systems has received a patent on the RFID Item Level Tagging Process. The process will be able to write information into the item at the point of orgin and when it is received at the location where it is going it will be read. If it can't be read it wasn't the original item that was shipped out. I think it will save alot of lives first and money second.
Posted By: David Cox Jr. 2/7/08 at 9:48 PM
I think that counterfeiting is a major problem in the pharmaceutical, retail, electronics, automotive and aerospace industries. I feel that RFID we be a major plus for combating the problem. My company Barcode Security Systems has received a patent on the RFID Item Level Tagging Process. The process will be able to write information into the item at the point of orgin and when it is received at the location where it is going it will be read. If it can't be read it wasn't the original item that was shipped out. I think it will save alot of lives first and money second.
Posted By: David Cox Jr. 2/7/08 at 9:48 PM
anti-counterfeiting expert
I am not an anti-counterfeiting expert, but this is an important area. I'm pleased that Mikko Lehtonen will be speaking about this topic at LIVE! He's an expert!
Mark
Posted By: Mark Roberti 2/7/08 at 1:38 PM
I am not an anti-counterfeiting expert, but this is an important area. I'm pleased that Mikko Lehtonen will be speaking about this topic at LIVE! He's an expert!
Mark
Posted By: Mark Roberti 2/7/08 at 1:38 PM
Counterfeiting
The US Chamber has a committee working with Congress to help write anti-counterfeiting laws. It would be helpful to present their efforts as well as the Congressional RFID caucus that meets in DC.
Posted By: David Frenkel 2/6/08 at 12:54 PM
The US Chamber has a committee working with Congress to help write anti-counterfeiting laws. It would be helpful to present their efforts as well as the Congressional RFID caucus that meets in DC.
Posted By: David Frenkel 2/6/08 at 12:54 PM
RFID will help when used correctly
I would like to thank Mark for his insight and interpretation of the Times article. The potential of RFID in anti-counterfeiting is not an easy topic and all too often either under- or overstated.
We in the Auto-ID Labs St. Gallen / ETH Zürich (http://www.autoidlabs.org/) are working on the topic since some years now. The concepts for RFID-based countermeasures are thoroughly investigated and we can see the first practical implementations in different industries for example in European projects SToP (http://www.project-stop.eu/) and BRIDGE (http://www.bridge-project.eu/).
For what comes to security, many experts and practitioners in the field argue that RFID does not provide real product authentication because the tags can be cloned, removed, destroyed etc. However, very secure techniques have been around for tens of years already but obviously they didn't solve the problem. Therefore our reserach indicates that RFID will help, not because of waterproof security, but because it delivers a better tradeoff between security, overall cost, and usability. Simply, it's 'more kick for the buck' for the brand-owners.
Posted By: Mikko Lehtonen 2/4/08 at 3:26 AM
I would like to thank Mark for his insight and interpretation of the Times article. The potential of RFID in anti-counterfeiting is not an easy topic and all too often either under- or overstated.
We in the Auto-ID Labs St. Gallen / ETH Zürich (http://www.autoidlabs.org/) are working on the topic since some years now. The concepts for RFID-based countermeasures are thoroughly investigated and we can see the first practical implementations in different industries for example in European projects SToP (http://www.project-stop.eu/) and BRIDGE (http://www.bridge-project.eu/).
For what comes to security, many experts and practitioners in the field argue that RFID does not provide real product authentication because the tags can be cloned, removed, destroyed etc. However, very secure techniques have been around for tens of years already but obviously they didn't solve the problem. Therefore our reserach indicates that RFID will help, not because of waterproof security, but because it delivers a better tradeoff between security, overall cost, and usability. Simply, it's 'more kick for the buck' for the brand-owners.
Posted By: Mikko Lehtonen 2/4/08 at 3:26 AM
Patient Tracking
Chris:
Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions. We just concluded our first RFID in Health Care event and there were several speakers who talked about monitoring patients and using RFID to improve care. You are right—this is a growing area. We'll look to cover it more.
I should also point out that for the first time, we are doing an RFID in Government pre-conference seminar in conjunction with RFID Journal LIVE! (www.rfidjournalevents.com/live) and it will cover evidence tracking and other issues like that. So we are definitely thinking along the same lines. Thanks again for the valuable suggestions. Keep them coming!
Mark
Posted By: MARK ROBERTI 1/24/08 at 7:44 AM
Chris:
Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions. We just concluded our first RFID in Health Care event and there were several speakers who talked about monitoring patients and using RFID to improve care. You are right—this is a growing area. We'll look to cover it more.
I should also point out that for the first time, we are doing an RFID in Government pre-conference seminar in conjunction with RFID Journal LIVE! (www.rfidjournalevents.com/live) and it will cover evidence tracking and other issues like that. So we are definitely thinking along the same lines. Thanks again for the valuable suggestions. Keep them coming!
Mark
Posted By: MARK ROBERTI 1/24/08 at 7:44 AM
Medicine Tracking/Patient tracking
I commend your articles and constant updates on RFID in the medical industires as well as other industries. Additional areas that could definitely benefit include NURSING HOME/HOSPICE CARE facilities which also deal with a great deal of patients and various shifts/staff motivation and capabilities so records are vital to the health and well being of the patients as well as medicine correct and timely medicine disbursement and also the areas of LAw enforcement -LAw enforcement records/databases inter networking and communications and Identification, tracking/storage of DNA and rape kit samples/data.
Posted By: Chris 1/23/08 at 1:39 PM
I commend your articles and constant updates on RFID in the medical industires as well as other industries. Additional areas that could definitely benefit include NURSING HOME/HOSPICE CARE facilities which also deal with a great deal of patients and various shifts/staff motivation and capabilities so records are vital to the health and well being of the patients as well as medicine correct and timely medicine disbursement and also the areas of LAw enforcement -LAw enforcement records/databases inter networking and communications and Identification, tracking/storage of DNA and rape kit samples/data.
Posted By: Chris 1/23/08 at 1:39 PM
Please enter your name or an alias and your email address.
Only your name or alias will appear in your post.
Only your name or alias will appear in your post.
