Authentication of images extracted from unclonable objects

An authentication system for a computing environment, the authentication system comprising one or more hardware computing devices in electronic communication with an imaging device and with a computer server, the one or more hardware computing devices configured to execute specific computer-executable instructions that upon execution cause the authentication system to:

• receive an electronic request to perform an action;
• receive from the imaging device an image of a physically unclonable object associated with the electronic request;
• obtain, from the computer server via an encrypted communication channel, electronic data representing a challenge associated with the object and describing:
• an expected response generated by a physically unclonable function (PUF) associated with the object;
• and
• a plurality of extraction parameters for extracting the expected response from reference image data of an authentic image of the object, the reference image data depicting an unclonable physical attribute of the object;
• determine, based on the electronic data, corresponding values for the plurality of extraction parameters;
• using the corresponding values:
• identify a portion of the image that contains the authentication data;
• apply one or more transformations to the image to produce a secret orientation of image data within the portion of the image;
• and
• extract authentication data from the image data in the secret orientation;
• compare the authentication data to the expected response to produce an authentication decision;
• and
• based on the authentication decision, allow or deny the electronic request.

An authentication system comprising:

• an imaging device;
• a server storing a plurality of reference patterns associated with a physically unclonable object and representing challenges for authenticating requests that are authenticated using the object;
• and
• a computing device in electronic communication with the imaging device and with the computer server, and storing specific computer-executable instructions that upon execution cause the computing device to:
• receive an electronic request to perform an action;
• receive from the imaging device an image of the physically unclonable object, the image associated with the electronic request;
• obtain from the server a first reference pattern of the plurality of reference patterns;
• determine, based on the physically unclonable object, one or more extraction parameters for extracting authentication data corresponding to the first reference pattern from reference image data of an authentic image of the object, the reference image data depicting an unclonable physical attribute of the object;
• determine, using the one or more extraction parameters, a secret orientation of the image that enables extraction of the authentication data from the image;
• apply one or more transformations to the image to reorient the image into the secret orientation;
• extract, using the one or more extraction parameters, authentication data from image data of the image in the secret orientation;
• compare the authentication data to the first reference pattern to produce an authentication decision;
• and
• based on the authentication decision, allow or deny the electronic request.