IMSecure

If an RFID tag screams in the woods...

Eric Dobson

December 17, 2008

If an RFID Tag sends an alert of tampering, who do you call?  Who responds?  Who benefits?

Nine million shipping containers enter the United States every year.  And, intermodal shipping container security means many things to many people.  Many use the term security, but mean asset visibility.  Visibility can mean many things to many people as well, ranging from knowing the status and condition of an asset in pseudo real-time down to visibility only at choke points.  Security, in the strict sense of the word, includes visibility, but denotes a process of deterrence and prevention of access.  Typical tracking and alerting systems offer little or no physical security as several studies have shown.^{1, 2}

In the European Union, the EUROWATCH program (https://secure.eurowatchcentral.com/) has been implemented to address this issue.  EUROWATCH is a multi-country service that addresses evolving crime against vehicles and freight.  It helps drivers and owners contact the appropriate responders when a crime occurs.  Coverage extends today to Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, South Africa, and parts of the Russian Federation.  However, no such entity exists in Eastern Asia, North and South America, or Australia.  For a coordinated response, the Department of Homeland Security must consider a similar program domestically and work with foreign programs to create the "interpol" for transportation security.  In this case, the question becomes, how long is long enough for the appropriate law enforcement to respond?

For tracking and alerting systems that provide physical security, the decision must be made to balance security and practicality on a product cost basis.  The solution must allow enough time for first responders to arrive, but can't be so expensive as to price the solution out of the market.  The solution must also address the decision to camouflage or not to camouflage.

Security systems of all types naturally draw attention to the asset, announcing it is of some great value to someone.  As long as containers are made of steel, wireless technologies will require some external manifestation of an antenna.  Therefore, the goal of a true container security solution must be first to deter.  The solution must first make the asset less attractive as a target by significantly raising the "ante" to access the container.  Failing deterrence, the goal must be to prevent unauthorized access.  However, ultimately, anyone with the right tools and determination is going to gain access to the container.  Therefore, container security products must focus on delaying access in order to allow sufficient time for responders to arrive.   

As a reward for this process, the use of physical security systems for containers should have several economic benefits in the reduction of loss and the optimization of precious human resources.  Estimates of loss due to shrinkage range from $10 to $50 billion annually in the global supply chain.  Much of this loss becomes insurance claims, which are in turn, passed back to the shipper as insurance premiums, and then to the consumer as product costs.  Some studies show that as much as 75% of the cost of given good for sale is logistics costs.³ 

The time has come for the term container security to be standardized.  Security should mean secure from unauthorized access.  Visibility is valuable, but security is a must and should provide economic incentives for implementation.

¹ Scientific Applications International Corporation ("SAIC"). Cargo Handling Cooperative Program, Agile Port and Terminal Systems Technologies: Container Seal Technologies and Processes. Prepared under contract for the Maritime Administration ("MARAD"). July 11, 2003.

² Homeland Security Research Corporation, Maritime Smart Containers Market Report 2004-2012 , 2004, p. 312.

³ IDTechEx, LTD, Active RFID 2066 – 2016 , 2005, p. 314.