HP Labs India

HP Labs India's Document Authentication System (DAS) addresses the problem of document authentication to overcome fraud and forgery. The DAS uses a 2D barcode in a networked environment to accomplish the validation of a document.

A 2D barcode can hold a large amount of machine readable data and can also be printed on paper. Documents that need authentication, like educational transcripts, driver’s license, citizens ID card etc. would include a 2D barcode generated by the DAS system. This, when it is presented as a legally valid document and needs to be authenticated, can be read using commonly available scanners. The scanned document can be sent to the DAS system over a network which generates a report stating the validity of the concerned document. A central DAS system can serve multiple users over a network such as the Internet.

The integrity of the document is validated using the content decoded from the barcode to the Document Authentication System (DAS). The DAS incorporates security features to ensure that the contents of the barcode are not tampered with. The client side software prints out a verification statement which contains the information decoded from the barcode along with a statement from the server indicating that the barcode's contents are authentic. The comparison of this information with the information on the original document can be used to detect forgery or manipulation very early in an attempted fraud. The verification statement, containing full information, can be processed by itself without even comparing it with the original human-readable text. The Document Authentication System also protects the privacy of the end users whose documents are being verified.

DAS is not complicated to implement and is intuitive to use. It is designed to blend into the existing paper ecosystem. While giving security to documents, it does not take away the positive aspects of the paper medium - simplicity and familiarity. It also addresses the concerns of privacy of individuals.

To know more about DAS, click here to download the whitepaper