RFID TAG USING ENCRYPTED VALUE

• US 20090315686A1
• Filed: 06/02/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: RCD Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: RCD Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Oberle, Robert R.
• Application Number:
  US12/131,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315686A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.520
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083

Abstract

A permanent ID can be read off of an RFID chip of an RFID tag. The permanent ID can be combined with a seed value to form a combined value. The combined value can be encrypted to form an encrypted value. This encrypted value can be stored on the RFID chip. Later, the RFID tag can be validated using the encryption value.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

reading a permanent ID off of an RFID chip of an RFID tag;

combining the permanent ID with a seed value to form a combined value;

encrypting the combined value to form an encrypted value;

storing the encrypted value on the RFID chip,

wherein the RFID tag can be validated using the encryption value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag can be validated by decrypting the encrypted value to obtain the permanent ID and the seed ID.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the permanent ID derived from the encrypted value can be compared to the permanent ID off of the RFID chip.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the seed value determined from the encryption value can be validated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFID chip also includes product data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the seed value is obtained from a pool of seed values.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is done by an RFID reader.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the encrypted value is encrypted with a public key.

9. An RFID tag comprising:

an RFID antenna; and

an RFID chip, the RFID chip including a permanent ID put on the RFID chip by the RFID chip manufacturer and an encrypted value, the encrypted value being created by encrypting a combined value, the combined value combining the permanent ID and a seed value.

10. The RFID tag of claim 9, wherein the seed value is obtained from a pool of seed values.

11. The RFID tag of claim 9, wherein an RFID reader obtains the permanent ID from the RFID chip, combines the permanent ID with the seed value to from a combined value, encrypts the combined value, and stores the encrypted value on the RFID chip.

12. The RFID tag of claim 9, wherein the RFID chip further stores product data.

13. A method comprising:

reading data off of a RFID chip of an RFID tag, the data including a permanent ID put on the RFID chip by the RFID chip manufacturer, and an encrypted value;

decrypting the encrypted value to get a combined value;

analyzing the combined value to get a derived permanent ID and a derived seed value; and

using at least one of the derived permanent ID and the derived seed value to validate the RFID tag.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the validation includes comparing the derived permanent ID portion obtained from the encrypted value with the permanent ID put on the RFID chip by the RFID manufacturer.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the validation includes analyzing the derived seed value.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein valid seed values have been encrypted and wherein the derived seed value can be decrypted to determine if the derived seed value is valid.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the encrypted value is encrypted with a public key and the decryption uses a private key.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the method is done by an RFID reader.

19. An RFID reader configured through software to authenticate an RFID tag through the use of a public/private key encryption method

20. An RFID reader of claim 19, wherein the public key is stored on removable media

21. An RFID reader of claim 20 wherein the stored public key is encrypted or password protected such that the user must enter data in order to access the public key.

22. An RFID reader of claim 19 wherein the public key is stored locally on the reader in re-writable memory.

23. An RFID reader of claim 22 wherein the stored public key is encrypted or password protected such that the user must enter data in order to access the public key.

24. An RFID reader of claim 19 wherein the public key is stored locally on the reader in non re-writable memory.

25. An RFID reader of claim 22 wherein the stored public key is encrypted or password protected such that the user must enter data in order to access the public key.