HIGH-VALUE DOCUMENT AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20130015236A1
• Filed: 07/15/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pagemark Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pagemark Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Porter, RanDair, Gotanda, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,716,711 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/645 using a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226

Abstract

Provided herein are systems and methods for providing document certification and authentication using 2D barcodes.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating a certified version of a document, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a document generator, a document certification request having document data from a remote device, wherein said obtained document data comprises overt data and covert data;

generating, by said document generator, a barcode having an overtly readable barcode portion based on said overt data and a covertly readable barcode portion based on said covert data, wherein said covertly readable barcode portion is unreadable to a conventional barcode reader suitable to read said overtly readable barcode portion; and

incorporating said generated barcode with the document to form a certified document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating further comprises incorporating said covertly readable barcode portion into redundant space associated with said overtly readable barcode portion.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said redundant space associated with said overtly readable barcode portion is reserved by an error-correcting code configured to detect and to correct encoding symbolic errors in the barcode of the overtly readable barcode portion.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said error-correcting code is a Reed-Solomon code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said covert data is encrypted.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the barcode is a 2D barcode.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the 2D barcode is selected from the group consisting of QR code, DataMatrix code, Aztec code, MaxiCode, Semacode tag, Cauzin Softstrip code, EZcode, HCCB, CyberCode, MMCC, Dot codes, PDF417 symbols, ShotCode, SPARQCode, WaterCode, and TPK.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the certifying includes printing the document with the generated barcode.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the certifying includes publishing the document with the generated barcode affixed.

10. A non-transient computer-readable medium having tangibly stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method of claim 1.

11. A computing apparatus comprising a processor and a memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform the method of claim 1.

12. A computer-implemented method for authenticating a certified version of a document, the method comprising:

requesting, by a barcode reader, to scan the certified document having a barcode with an overtly readable barcode portion based on overt data and a covertly readable barcode portion based on covert data, wherein said covertly readable barcode portion is unreadable to a conventional barcode reader suitable to read said overtly readable barcode portion;

obtaining, by said barcode reader from an authentication server, a covert scan key associated with the certified document;

scanning, by said barcode reader using said covert scan key, said covertly readable barcode portion in the certified document;

identifying said covert data in said scanned covertly readable barcode portion; and

authenticating the certified document using said covert data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said scanning comprises capturing a barcode image.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said captured barcode image is decoded and decrypted into overt data and covert data by a remote device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said covertly readable barcode portion is inserted in said overtly readable barcode portion in at least one error burst such that said overtly readable barcode portion will be corrected by said barcode reader using redundant data.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said inserted covertly readable barcode portion appears as an error burst within said overtly readable barcode portion to said conventional barcode reader and is discarded.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said inserted covertly readable barcode portion is extracted from said overtly readable barcode portion and decrypted using said covert scan key.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein said authenticating further includes

issuing, by said barcode reader, a local challenge query;

obtaining, by said barcode reader a local query response; and

verifying, by said barcode reader, a match of said local challenge query and said local query response.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein said authenticating further includes

issuing, by said authentication server, a remote challenge query;

obtaining, by said barcode reader a remote query response; and

verifying, by said authentication server, a match of said remote challenge query and said remote query response.

20. A non-transient computer-readable medium having tangibly stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method of claim 12.

21. A computing apparatus comprising a processor and a memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform the method of claim 12.

22. A computer-implemented method for tracking a certified version of a document, the method comprising:

obtaining, by an authentication server, a document authentication request from a remote scanning device for the certified document, wherein the certified document includes encrypted document data encoded into a barcode, said barcode having an overtly readable barcode portion based on overt data and an encrypted covertly readable barcode portion based on covert data that is unreadable to a conventional barcode reader suitable to read said overtly readable barcode portion;

identifying, by said authentication server, an encryption key associated with encrypted covertly readable barcode portion of said barcode and responsive to said document authentication request, transmitting said identified encryption key to said remote scanning device;

obtaining, by said authentication server from said remote scanning device, said barcode with document data;

identifying, by said authentication server, the certified document based on said obtained document data;

recording said document authentication request by said remote scanning device with a tracking record associated with the certified document.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said identifying includes associating said barcode with the certified document.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein identifying further includes determining whether said tracking record associated with the certified document includes a document alert.

25. A non-transient computer-readable medium having tangibly stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method of claim 22.

26. A computing apparatus comprising a processor and a memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform the method of claim 22.