Method and apparatus for fingerprinting and authenticating various magnetic media
First Claim
1. A method for fingerprinting an object, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the method comprising the steps of determining a plurality of fingerprints, each of the plurality of fingerprints representing a remanent noise for a portion of the object'"'"'s magnetic medium, and recording the plurality of fingerprints for use when later verifying the object'"'"'s identity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for determining the remanent noise in a magnetic medium by, for example, dc saturation of a region thereof and measurement of the remaining dc magnetization. A conventional magnetic recording transducer may be used to determine the remanent noise. Upon determination, the remanent noise may then be digitized and stored on the same magnetic medium, in a database, or both to thereby "fingerprint" the magnetic medium. This "fingerprint" may then be later used to verify and authenticate the magnetic medium as being an original. The magnetic medium may be of a type adapted to record information magnetically or, even more broadly, any magnetic surface or substance that can be sensed through its magnetic field. In such manner, any magnetic medium, or any object having an associated magnetic medium, may be "fingerprinted" including credit cards, computer program diskettes, magneto-optic discs, videotapes, cassette tapes, bank checks, stock certificates, etc. A different or additional portion of the magnetic medium can be selected each time the medium is authenticated. In this manner, different fingerprint data can be used for each authentication procedure for added security, and to avoid the ramifications of possible counterfeiting, on-line interception, electronic eavesdropping, or sharing of access data by unscrupulous users.
293 Citations
44 Claims
- 1. A method for fingerprinting an object, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the method comprising the steps of determining a plurality of fingerprints, each of the plurality of fingerprints representing a remanent noise for a portion of the object'"'"'s magnetic medium, and recording the plurality of fingerprints for use when later verifying the object'"'"'s identity.
- 5. A method for fingerprinting an object to facilitate a later verification of the object'"'"'s identity, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the magnetic medium having at least one region having a plurality of unique fingerprints, the method comprising the steps of determining a remanent noise for the entirety of the magnetic medium region, the remanent noise comprising the plurality of unique fingerprints, and recording the remanent noise.
- 7. A device for fingerprinting an object for the later verification of the object'"'"'s identity, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the device comprising a reader for determining a plurality of fingerprints, each of the plurality of fingerprints representing a remanent noise for a portion of the object'"'"'s magnetic medium, and a recorder for recording the plurality of fingerprints.
- 11. A device for fingerprinting an object to facilitate a later verification of the object'"'"'s identity, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the magnetic medium having at least one region having a plurality of unique fingerprints, the device comprising a reader for determining a remanent noise for the entirety of the magnetic medium region, the remanent noise comprising the plurality of unique fingerprints, and a recorder for recording the remanent noise.
- 13. A method for authenticating an object, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the method comprising the steps of selecting at least one portion of the magnetic medium which is not reliably the same portion selected in a most recent previous selection, obtaining remanent noise data from the selected portion, and comparing the remanent noise data obtained from the selected portion with a previous determination thereof to thereby determine whether the object is authentic.
- 21. A method for authenticating an object physically remote from a central location by transmitting data between the physically remote object and the central location over a data link, the physically remote object including a magnetic medium, the method comprising the steps of sending over the data link sufficient data for selecting at least one portion of the object'"'"'s magnetic medium, receiving remanent noise data obtained from the selected portion, and comparing at the central location the received remanent noise data with a previous determination thereof to thereby remotely determine whether the physically remote object is authentic.
- 28. A device for authenticating a physically remote object, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the device comprising a selector for selecting at least one portion of the magnetic medium which is not reliably the same portion selected in a most recent previous selection, an input for receiving remanent noise data obtained from the selected portion, and a comparator for comparing the received remanent noise data with a previous determination thereof to thereby determine whether the physically remote object is authentic.
- 34. A device for facilitating authentication of an object by a physically remote entity, the object including at least in part a magnetic medium, the device comprising an input for receiving a selection of at least one portion of the magnetic medium, a reader for determining a remanent noise from the selected portion of the magnetic medium, and an output for providing data representative of the determined remanent noise.
Specification