Alternative product authentication system using visual cryptography

Fraud and counterfeiting have caused various inconveniences to manufacturers and the product consumer market. To avoid counterfeiting and, therefore, bring a higher level of trust and security in commercial transactions, several authentication techniques for physical products have been proposed. Among the techniques commonly employed, the most popular are QR codes (Quick Response Code), Holographic Seals, and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. This paper aims to propose an alternative product authentication system that applies the visual cryptography technique (NAOR; SHAMIR, 1995). This system employs two masks that, when overlaid, allow visual authentication by the user, without the need for any computational processing. The use of this authentication system for the need in question has not yet been reported in the literature