Method and apparatus for marking manufactured items using physical characteristic

An apparatus for marking a manufactured item, comprising:

• key generator software configured to generate encryption keys;
• a code generator computer or microcontroller configured to generate a unique product identifier for each manufactured item;
• physical key generator hardware configured to generate physical keys from a measured physical property of each manufactured item;
• a processor configured to receive the encryption keys, the unique product identifier, and the physical keys, and configured to:
• generate a secret key for each manufactured item using the unique product identifier and one or more encryption keys;
• generate a system noise value for each manufactured item by performing a hash function on the secret key and the unique product identifier;
• generate a physical noise value for each manufactured item by performing a hash function on the physical key and the unique product identifier;
• generate a secure identifier derived from or incorporating the secret key and the physical key, wherein the secure identifier is derived from or incorporates the system noise value and the physical noise value;
• and
• marking hardware configured to receive the secure identifier, or an identifier derived from the secure identifier, from the processor and configured to mark each manufactured item with the secure identifier or the identifier derived from the secure identifier.

A method of marking a manufactured item, comprising:

• creating a unique product identifier for a manufactured item;
• creating one or more encryption keys;
• generating a secret key using the unique product identifier and the one or more encryption keys;
• generating a physical key from a measured physical property of the manufactured item;
• generating a system noise value using the secret key and the unique product identifier;
• generating a physical noise value using the physical key and the unique product identifier;
• generating a secure identifier derived from or incorporating the secret key and the physical key, wherein generating the secure identifier comprises generating a first identifier by encrypting the unique product identifier together with the system noise value and generating the secure identifier by encrypting the first identifier together with the physical noise value;
• placing a mark on the manufactured item, the mark comprising the secure identifier or an identifier derived from the secure identifier;
• and
• authenticating the manufactured item at a verification centre, wherein authenticating the manufactured item comprises:
• identifying the mark on the item;
• decrypting the mark to derive the first identifier and the physical noise value;
• decrypting the first identifier to derive the unique product identifier and the system noise value;
• generating a new physical key from a measured physical property of the manufactured item;
• generating a new copy of the physical noise value by performing a hash function on the new physical key and the derived unique product identifier;
• comparing the new copy of the physical noise value with the derived physical noise value;
• and
• providing an indication of whether the derived physical noise value is identical to or correlates to the new copy of the physical noise value.

A method of marking a manufactured item, comprising:

• creating a unique product identifier for a manufactured item;
• creating one or more encryption keys;
• generating a secret key using the unique product identifier and the one or more encryption keys;
• generating a physical key from a measured physical property of the manufactured item;
• generating a system noise value using the secret key and the unique product identifier;
• generating a physical noise value using the physical key and the unique product identifier;
• generating a secure identifier derived from or incorporating the secret key and the physical key;
• wherein generating the secure identifier comprises:
• generating a first secure identifier by encrypting the unique product identifier together with the system noise value;
• and
• generating a second secure identifier by encrypting the unique product identifier together with the physical noise value;
• placing a mark on the manufactured item, the mark comprising the first and the second secure identifiers or an identifier or identifiers derived from the first and the second secure identifiers;
• and
• authenticating the manufactured item at a verification centre, wherein authenticating comprises:
• identifying the mark on the item;
• decrypting the mark to derive the unique product identifier, the system noise value, and the physical noise value;
• generating a new copy of the secret key from the unique product identifier and the one or more encryption keys;
• generating a new copy of the system noise value by performing a hash function on the new copy of the secret key and the unique product identifier;
• comparing the new copy of the system noise value with the derived system noise value;
• generating a new physical key from a measured physical property of the manufactured item;
• generating a new copy of the physical noise value by performing a hash function on the new physical key and the derived unique product identifier;
• comparing the new copy of the physical noise value with the derived physical noise value;
• and
• providing an indication of whether both the new copy of the system noise value is identical to the derived system noise value and the new copy of the physical noise value is identical to or correlates to the derived physical noise value.