Cheap Scanners Can "Fingerprint" Paper

carusoj writes "Researchers at Princeton University and University College London say they can identify unique information, essentially like a fingerprint, from any blank sheet of paper using any reasonably good scanner. The technique could be used to crack down on counterfeiting or even keep track of confidential documents. The researchers' paper on the finding is set to be presented at an IEEE security conference in Oakland, Calif., in May." Update: 03/10 22:43 GMT by T : J. Alex Halderman, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan and one of the authors of the study, writes with more: "My group has just put up a site about the work and a copy of the full paper, and we will probably add a video later tonight."

Comments

hm

[jperl]

"A drug company like Pfizer, for example, could take fingerprints of their labels when they are shipped, and this data could be verified later by a government or company representative in order to spot fakes."

In times people consciously order fake viagra or fake diet pills this might not help.

Re:Dirty Fingers

[YouWantFriesWithThat]

i was fingerprinted when i got a bartenders license. they had me use hand sanitizer to moisten my fingertips when i used the optical scanner and it gave a better read.