Counterfeiting detector wins new technology prize.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs

A DEVICE THAT USES LASERS to scan the surfaces of paper, plastic or metal to detect their unique molecular "fingerprints" won the Global Security Challenge prize, which is awarded annually to homeland defense start-ups.

Ingenia Technology based in London, took the $10,000 prize with its laser surface authentication scannets, which uses a beam of light to scan the surfaces of materials for microscopic irregularities. The company has touted the technology as a way to detect counterfeiting.

The surface of an item, such as a passport, can be scanned before issuance, and the unique "fingerprint" of the material entered into a database. Items made of paper and plastic all have unique irregularities on their surfaces that lasers reflect back as "optical speckles." The device chooses one spot on the item to scan. The same spot can later be examined a second time to verify its authenticity, according to a company fact sheet.

Ingenia has developed a...