751053Crystal Key Personal IdentifierClosedVouchersInnovate UKCrystal Key – An Unforgeable Unclonable Personal Verification SystemThe core of the AlphaFox Systems Ltd proposal is the development of a non-clonable (i.e. non-forgeable) and unique physical optical ‘personal identification tag’, embedded in a device called Crystal Key, that the consumer carries with them on their key-ring, purse, wallet, or similar personal item. The device will be a tube of plastic about the size of a lipstick or key-ring micro-torch and will comprise a special new material with a randomly-distributed array of ‘crystals’ (the tag) with integrated light source. When verifying personal identity during making an m-commerce or on-line transaction, the mobile phone application would ask the consumer to hold the Crystal Key up to the phone camera which would automatically take a photograph of the Crystal Key and compare the image of the random crystal array/pattern with that stored on a payment verification database for that consumer. If there is not a match between the two images, then the transaction will be denied. Hence only legitimate transactions can take place.The Internet and, increasingly, (mobile phone) m-commerce are becoming the driving force behind commerce and retailing, allowing even the smallest and newest of companies to trade internationally. Similarly, an increasing number of consumers will carry out transactions on sites that they are not familiar with. This is providing additional opportunities to fraudsters looking to exploit loopholes in the security and authentication of transactions: e.g. Is the payment site genuine? Is the payer who they say they are?, etc. It is now essential that transaction systems are able to verify the authenticity of the purchaser in addition to the item being bought and the identity/legitimacy of the vendor.Crystal Key meets all of these needs by providing a ‘tag’ that is unique to each individual consumer and which can be read using any smart phone camera. It will be inclusive in that those with a wide range of IT competence levels including technophobes should be able to use it. It will also work for people of limited dexterity and sightedness, and people from different cultures, since this simple ‘automatic photography’ step does not involve reading, typing, speaking, remembering, PINs, smart cards. It will complement our Crystal Chip tag anti-counterfeit technology for product authentication.