First Ondemand Fights Back Against Fraud with Authentisec

According to the Kroll Global Fraud Report, the average company has lost $8.2 million to fraud over the past three years. It is clear that businesses need to fight back against costly fraud, counterfeit goods, and identity theft, but simply connecting physical items to electronic security—including RFID tags and holograms—addresses only part of the problem.

Oracle partner First Ondemand takes security a step further with an intelligent IP-based identity and authentication solution called Authentisec. Authentisec creates unique cryptographically secure identities with a defined lifecycle that has information, status, and metadata assigned to it. According to Douglas Shand, First Ondemand’s chief technology officer, Authentisec provides the ability to tag physical and virtual objects with unique identities that contain the full lifecycle status controlled by the client’s business applications. Shand says, “Authentisec identities cannot be compromised by duplicating or counterfeiting, and the solution is particularly effective where the management of high-value objects requires a robust, scalable, and secure method of redemption or validation.”

Built on Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Database 10g, Authentisec views each unique intelligent identity as an object. These unique and intelligent identities can be used to verify people, track products, or monitor electronic transactions such as payments and data exchanges. The identities are carrier agnostic and can be utilized on fixed or portable data carriers such as bar codes, RFID tags, smart cards, and mobile devices. First Ondemand’s solution was recently recognized with a 2008 Oracle Partner Innovation Award for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.

First Ondemand believes that ultimately all manufactured objects and atomic business transactions will need to be “tagged” and authenticated. The company contends that Authentisec has the potential to function as the core infrastructure to power the emerging auto-ID industry. Authentisec identities can be carried and read on a very thin client application, and these identities can be authenticated in real time over a standard IP network. Authentisec is cost-effective because it reduces losses from fraud and counterfeiting crimes, minimizes spending on additional security software, and meets compliance regulations, all of which help deliver business efficiency and savings. “We want to reduce the barrier to entry for secure identity solutions, by ensuring the minimum investment in infrastructure that is needed to utilize Authentisec technology,” Shand adds.

Already, First Ondemand is finding unique applications for its technology in industries ranging from transportation to life sciences. The company worked with Thetrainline.com, the leading independent U.K. rail retailer, for a groundbreaking mobile phone security application called Authentisec Mobile. It runs on a mobile phone handset and enables customers to easily purchase tickets without having to wait in line and to carry that ticket value securely on their mobile phone handset. Jeremy Acklam, development director, Mobile, at Thetrainline.com’s smart media company, Ecebs Ltd., says, “First Ondemand’s Authentisec Mobile secure identity and authentication solution is an enabling technology that provides an essential security layer for our new smart service.”

First Ondemand is also working on Authentisec SVR (secure vehicle registration), a solution that will enable vehicles to carry all necessary data—including insurance, driver information, roadworthiness, and road usage charges—in a secure tag. The tag will work in both passive and active mode and will be usable for real-time congestion charging and traffic management. “There is no security associated with RFID tags,” Shand notes. “First Ondemand enables the use of RFID tags to become secure and robust and extend the functionality of existing RFID applications.”

In addition, the company recently signed a partnership agreement with Siemens AG to include Authentisec in Siemens’ Serialization@Siemens tracking and tracing solution for the pharmaceutical industry. The application will track individual pharmaceutical products along the entire delivery chain, optimize production and logistics processes, and provide increased security to combat drug counterfeiting. First Ondemand is moving forward in 2009 with planned enhancements. The company released an updated version of Authentisec at the end of 2008 that includes new market-driven features, such as linked or collaborative identities. Shand says, “Our aim for 2009 is to embed Authentisec as a core platform in as many different business applications as is practical and to try to develop a common platform for auto-ID and on-demand authentication.”