WISeKey International Holding Ltd and Toppan Printing Co., Ltd have announced that they are collaborating to provide the industry with versatile smart tags that allow any object to securely authenticate and communicate online.
In 2017, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the International Trademark Association (INTA) commissioned Frontier Economics to write a report about The Economic Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy. The report estimated that the value of the international trade in counterfeit and pirated products will grow from US$461 billion (€372 billion) in 2013, or as much as 2.5 percent of all international trade, to US$991 billion (€799.7 billion) in 2022. It also estimated that the total scale of domestic production and consumption of counterfeit and pirated products will grow from US$249 – US$456 billion (€200.9 billion – €368 billion) in 2013 to US$524 – US$959 billion (€422.9 billion – €773.9 billion) in 2022. Although already dramatic, these estimates do not take into consideration other wider economic and social costs such as loss of jobs, Foreign Direct Investment, and fiscal revenue.
Aiming to decrease these figures, this collaboration will combine WISeKey’s expertise in Internet of Things (IoT) security with Toppan’s deep roots in secure printing and anti-counterfeiting.
WISeKey Semiconductors inherits more than 25 years’ experience delivering secure semiconductors that protect sensitive data for governments and private corporations. Among other applications, WISeKey’s chips are widely used by global telecommunication manufacturers and healthcare organizations as well as Visa/MasterCard bank cards. The same certified technology is now available in WISeKey’s VaultIC lightweight hardware security modules. VaultIC chips provide a powerful anti-counterfeiting tool by enabling cryptographic security to identify any item online using contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) with an Android or Apple iOS based smartphone.
Toppan provides a complete suite of security printing technologies through the company’s century-long leadership in printing passports, identity cards, banknotes and other secure documents. More recently Toppan has extended the use of these technologies for anti-counterfeiting protection of branded goods. Similar to the way NFC secure elements are embedded in e-passport covers, Toppan also designs specific tags for a robust integration in any packaging such as wine or spirit bottles, cosmetics and perfume boxes and luxury goods.
“Counterfeit goods often lead to bad user experience in addition to dramatic loss of revenue for companies and significant socio-economic costs for economies,” said Olivier Debelleix, Director of Brand Protection & Wearable Security Business Unit for WISeKey. “WISeKey’s technology brings anti-counterfeiting labelling into the Internet age. Our collaboration with Toppan leverages our respective strengths in new geographic markets and applications.”
“The durability and counterfeit-resistance of Toppan’s security printing solutions are trusted all over the world,” said Tomoji Isaka, Sales Manager for Toppan Europe. “WISeKey’s VaultIC cryptographic module will further increase the security levels we provide our customers to protect their assets.”
