Electronic secure authentication for exchange buyer assurance system (eSafeBay)

A system to securely authenticate an item or product offered for auctioning or sale, comprising:

• an electronic circuit associated with the item wherein the electronic circuit includes an electronically readable identifier and embedded cryptographic data and a cryptographic calculator to encrypt a response to a challenge received by the electronic circuit using the embedded cryptographic data, the embedded cryptographic data being an encryption key and other cryptographic data related to the electronic circuit;
• an authenticating entity that stores the electronic readable identifier and the encryption keys associated with the embedded cryptographic data;
• a reader configured to bi-directionally communicate wirelessly with the electronic circuit;
• a network connection connecting the reader to the authentication entity wherein the reader is configured to communicate at least the electronically readable identifier and the encrypted response;
• a validation module to execute a validation process configured to be initiated by the authentication entity or the reader, the validation process computes an expected response using the electronically readable identifier, stored encryption keys and the stored embedded cryptographic data to validate the encrypted response by comparing the expected response to the encrypted response;
• and
• wherein the authentication entity is configured to provide an authenticity indicator to indicate a result of the validation process