Use Engagement Archives

QR Codes for Counterfeit Detection

Posted on August 3, 2022September 16, 2022 by Openscreen Product Team

It’s been said that there are a whole lot of things that are fake in this world. And it’s true. The rise of unique luxury items in an increasingly homogenous world has made counterfeit products an immense problem. In fact, the Federal Bureau of Investigations recently estimated the cost of counterfeit in the US to be $600 billion annually.

Counterfeit and Fraud Detection

One of the problems in combatting counterfeits is that anything can be copied. So, if you put a special ‘authenticity’ tag on an expensive pair of shoes, there’s nothing to prevent that tag itself from being copied. It’s analogous to when your bank card is ‘duplicated’ (virtually or digitally): Banks can’t tell which card is real versus which card is fake. However, what they can detect is if the same card’s credentials are being used in two different places at the same time. They can also detect abnormal usage patterns, which in turn allow them to detect that counterfeiting and fraud have taken place.

Using QR Codes: An Illustration

QR Codes are not foolproof. They can be duplicated in the same ways as the products they can protect against counterfeit. But QR Codes can be used in unique and creative ways to detect and deter fraud. Take, for example, the famous Rubik’s Cube, the world’s best-selling toy, and likely the most copied one as well. An interesting idea would be to embed a QR Code that scans to tutorials, or a solver’s club. For extreme security, they could create a unique code for every cube sold. Or, to simplify matters, they could create a unique code for every market they sell in, or for every retailer they sell through. By watching scan patterns of these codes, they could readily detect if a specific code was being over-scanned or scanned in anomalous locations. This could greatly diminish copy-cats.

Openscreen for Counterfeit Detection

Openscreen’s easy-to-use and powerful SDK allows retailers in any market to generate and embed the creation of unique QR Codes, at scale, via their product and package manufacturing machines. With minimal cost, companies could drive savings that would help magnify their return on investment. They could also go further and leverage QR Codes to allow customers to register product ownership, which would help to create lasting post-sale relationships with them.

Enhancing Agriculture with QR Codes

Posted on August 3, 2022September 16, 2022 by Openscreen Product Team

Some experts suggest that if we don’t figure out a way to improve agricultural output by 2050, this planet will have more people than it can feed. That’s a scary, but not completely unrealistic thought. In response to that, almost every aspect of farming and agriculture undergoing some level of transformation using technology. After all, our current and future generations may depend on it.

The Importance of Good Soil

I recently came across the Netflix documentary “Kiss the Ground”. It takes a multifaceted view of the importance of soil management to promote better food outcomes, optimize our use of resources, and decrease our carbon footprint. Many of us know that soil can trap carbon dioxide emissions, but I was surprised to learn that healthier soil is must more effective at the task. Technology has become an important tool in measuring and improving the quality of soil around the world.

Agronomists and Soil Collection

Agronomists, the professionals who practice in the science and management of agriculture, collect soil for quality testing. This practice is becoming more important as farmers aim to get more out of their land. Soil is collected, sent to a lab, and analyzed on a regular basis. Resulting data can drive better seed prescriptions, fertilizer recommendations, and even generate valuable carbon credits for farmers. Yet, surprisingly, soil collection is a very manual process. Agronomists often use clipboards and paper to capture data when they head out to fields, leaving actual data entry to technicians who receive samples at the lab.

Openscreen, QR Codes, and Agriculture Technology

We see QR Codes as an effective way to automate the agronomist’s soil-collection lifecycle. From field to lab, serialized QR Codes can allow soil collectors to scan a bag at the point of collection. From there, important data like time and location can automatically be captured, while the QR Code can be programmed to bring the agronomist to a data collection app. Then, workflows in the app can track the bag every time it is scanned, as seed prescriptions are generated, and carbon credits are accumulated.

Openscreen’s powerful SDK provides an easy way to generate unique, trackable QR Codes at scale, which can be used to digitize agriculture technology. As manual tasks like soil collection become important elements of our food supply chain, leveraging contactless technology like QR Codes throughout the lifecycle can provide quality, assurance, speed, and advanced reporting for all stakeholders involved.

Securing QR Codes with Multi-Factor Authentication

Posted on August 3, 2022September 8, 2022 by Openscreen Product Team

Multifactor Authentication (MFA) has become a common shield against hacking and password theft. Nowadays, if you are using a digital service that needs to be secure (banking, e-commerce, health care, etc.), MFA has almost become standard. After you submit a username and password, you receive a text message with a 6-digit code that’s used to prove that it’s really you who’s trying to access the service.

Why Multifactor Works

Multifactor authentication is based on the principle of proving someone’s identity by getting two things they have from them: “something they know” and “something they have.” Bank debit cards are a perfect example of MFA. To draw money from a machine, you need to know the PIN number and you need to have the card. That same principle applies when you get a 6-digit SMS code after you try and log in to a website. The site is expecting you to know your username and password, and that you have your phone with you. It would be very unlikely that someone other than you could get access to both.

Why QRs Can Benefit from MFA.

QR Codes are going to become more and more common as their penetration into the mainstream, everyday use continues. Today, we can use QR Codes to see restaurant menus, book appointments at the bank, and get product information on things we buy. Tomorrow, we’ll likely use QR Codes to access medical records, prove product authenticity, and pay bills. In these sensitive applications, having QR Codes trigger SMS notifications to stakeholder parties for approval will be of great benefit.

Openscreen and two-factor Authentication

The Openscreen platform includes an easy to invoke scan-to-SMS function that’s exposed via our API and Node SDK. We leverage functionality from Twilio, the leading cloud communications platform, ensuring the highest level in reliability when sending messages. To ensure that contactless technologies like QR Codes can continue to drive value for enterprises globally, every aspect must be considered, and security should always be at the top of the list.

Tag: Use Engagement