HID Global, a global provider of trusted identity solutions, announced that Tasmania’s Old Kempton Distillery (OKD) has deployed its Internet of Things (IoT) enablement platform, HID Trusted Tag Services, to combat counterfeiting of its world class whiskeys, gins and other liquor products.
HID’s innovative IoT platform for brand protection, combined with the web application developed by local integrator AusNFC, enables Old Kempton Distillery to guard against grey market activities and allows customers to authenticate their product at the point of sale. It also strengthens the appellation registration for the Australian island state of Tasmania, which boasts some of the most pristine water and climate conditions for manufacturing premium, top-shelf liquor products.
Taking measures to prevent counterfeiting
HID Trusted Tag Services is changing the game for authenticating brands and staying connected to buyers through a mobile experience"“Old Kempton Distillery makes one of the world’s finest whiskeys, and with counterfeiting in our industry becoming a global issue, we recognised the need to take proactive steps to protect our brand,” said Robbie Gilligan, Business Manager and Brand Ambassador for Old Kempton Distillery.
“We were seeking the best brand protection technology available and a solution that would also allow us to securely engage with our customers, long after a sale. We believe that HID Trusted Tag Services and the support provided through AusNFC provide just that.”
Beyond its anti-counterfeiting features, HID’s IoT offering opens a new and powerful avenue for Old Kempton Distillery to stay connected with customers via direct and hyper-personalised communications that helps the distillery build brand loyalty in a privacy-preserving, closed environment.
“We find HID’s solutions to be applicable to many different industries,” said Larry Hower, CEO of AusNFC. “HID Trusted Tag Services is changing the game for authenticating brands and staying connected to buyers through a mobile experience.”
Working of the system
- The distillery’s solution incorporates HID Trusted Tag Services into the AusNFC web application that drive the front-end mobile experience on customers’ phones.
- A HID cryptographically secure Near Field Communication (NFC) tag is embedded into the label of every liquor bottle, which links to HID’s cloud authentication service.
- By tapping their iPhone or Android phone to the bottle, the customer activates a secure communications channel that authenticates the provenance of their premium product – down to the actual bottle number.
- Each tap generates a unique URL, preventing counterfeiters from copying, spoofing or manipulating the URL for false verification.
Combining cloud authentication with NFC tags
The advanced cryptographic capabilities of the embedded tags make them virtually impossible to be cloned or copied“HID’s IoT technology is enabling mass adoption of brand protection by major brands worldwide that are seeking to address more sophisticated attempts by fraudsters focussed on imitating their products,” said Mark Robinton, Director of Business Development and Strategic Innovation at HID Global. “Manufacturers and consumers alike can rest assured that their product can be authenticated at every stage of its lifecycle – from production to the shopping bag.”
HID Trusted Tag Services combine HID’s cloud authentication services with its trusted NFC tags that come in many form factors for variety of product shapes and sizes requiring brand authentication. HID’s trusted NFC tags are embedded into each product during the manufacturing process, and are easily read using NFC-enabled smartphones (both Android and iOS v11 and newer).
The advanced cryptographic capabilities of the embedded tags make them virtually impossible to be cloned or copied, and the extended security features in HID’s cloud authentication service provide privacy-preserving brand authentication and consumer engagement in a closed and trusted environment.
