News

Global Security Standards

In September, the first technical committee to design international security standards (TC 247) will meet in Santa Clara, California. Hundreds of technologies are available to authenticate various products, many offered by Topflight Corporation, but there is currently no global standard to correlate and harmonize the various strategies, nor are there established criteria for performance and operability.

Suggested by The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and sponsored by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), TC 247 will be spearheaded by the North American Security Products Organization (NASPO). Members are currently being assembled from all sectors of the economy: businesses, consumer organizations, law enforcement, government agencies, trade associations, and academia. The hope is to create a group with every area of expertise in creative anti-counterfeiting schemes and solutions.

An ISO international standard would increase transparency and awareness of product security issues, enable businesses to make more accurate choices when selecting the authentication tools, and help to improve all anti-counterfeiting solutions. Twelve other nations are currently participating in TC 247, including the UK, China, Korea, and Canada, and seven others have voiced interest in supporting the standards.

The last decade has experienced a boom in counterfeited products, which are currently estimated to represent up to 10% of world trade. Counterfeited products pose numerous risks for consumers, end users, and the entire supply chain, particularly when affecting medical or food products. Recent public scares with toys, toothpaste, and pharmaceuticals highlight the dangers involved in unsecure product streams.

As a voting member of NASPO, Topflight's Brand Security Director Tom Hartmann is excited about the initiative. "These standards have the potential to do for security what similar standards did for RFID at the beginning of this decade. They could move security into the mainstream."