Justin Picard (Scantrust): "The access we provide to trustworthy information could save lives"

How did you get involved in brand protection?

Ever since my postdoc on the topic of digital watermarking, back in 2001 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, I have been captivated by this question: by using only a standard printer, is there a way to protect any product or document against counterfeiting? Could such a solution be truly secure?  While “if you can make it, they can fake it” is a common saying in the security printing industry, I intuited that at the level of individual pixels, printing cannot be perfect. (I also gave a TEDx talk on this subject). And if that is the case, there will always be some information lost when a digital image is printed, or when counterfeiters print a copy of the original. One may not be able to produce a fake without losing or modifying some details.

In the following years, I invented an anti-counterfeiting technology that required merely printing a special digital image, which I called at the time a copy detection pattern, or secure graphic. While these secure graphics were really hard to copy (in fact neither counterfeiters nor myself were able to break it), mobile phone cameras did not exist at the time, and a special image capturing device was required for detection. The solution was not yet ready for consumers.

How did the idea of Scantrust come about? 

QR codes are now fully embedded in the social fabric of most Asian countries, and their use has progressed tremendously in the Western world. On the other hand, QR codes have no protection against copying, so it is easy to fool consumers into scanning a copy of a QR code that would be placed on a fake product and make them believe it is an authentic one. With phone cameras improving as they have done, I thought it would be possible to insert a secure graphic into the middle of a QR code and develop an app that would instantly tell whether the QR code was authentic. When I saw the first prototype exceeding my hopes, I filed a patent and, with my fellow co-founders Nathan Anderson and Paul Landry, quickly decided to launch a company that we named Scantrust.

Could you tell us a little about how your previous experience has helped you in your current role as CTO? 

I worked with two previous security companies before my current role. In my role, I developed digital imaging authentication technologies that were deployed on hundreds of millions of products, printed on different printers throughout the world. This experience gave me a clear view of do’s and don’ts with respect to scaling product authentication technologies.

How do you ensure that the secure graphic you insert in the middle of QR codes are copy-proof?

The secure graphic is optimized to lose information anytime it is printed or copied, and it is an irreversible process. When the QR code is scanned with our mobile app, an analysis of the secure graphic is made instantly, and the user receives an authentication response within seconds.

This information loss happens naturally during printing, and is not something the counterfeiter can control, even if equipped with a high-resolution scanner and the same printer as was used for the original prints. Several security printers have attempted to copy it, but all their copies were successfully detected.

What types of services can potential clients expect to receive if they choose to work with you? Who is your product made for?

Most of our clients are companies that depend on selling physical products in a connected world, though we also have governments using our solution for tax stamps and secure documents. Active brand protection, supply chain awareness and direct consumer engagement benefits are enabled by securely binding physical goods with online identities. Scantrust solutions help recover lost income and unlock growth potential for companies and the goods they sell.

Scantrust works to actively reduce counterfeit. What are some of the economic impacts of counterfeiting today?

There are different studies, for example from the EUIPO [European Union Intellectual Property Office] or the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development], that document the economic and wider impacts of counterfeiting from a macro perspective. The statistics show these impacts are phenomenally high. At a more granular level, what I can say from my daily interactions with brand owners is that successful companies are all struggling with issues of counterfeiting or illicit trade. But I would also like to mention the high risks posed by counterfeits on the health and safety of people, which I am very aware of: our solution is used to protect products such as baby milk, water filters, food, and wine and spirits.

In what ways has Scantrust tried to address the issue of counterfeit Covid-19 tests?

There have been numerous identified cases of PPE [personal protective equipment] and Covid-19 test kits being falsified recent weeks. Our secure QR codes would allow anyone in the supply chain – from a procurer to an end-user – to identify the authenticity of the product within seconds, using nothing more than their phone and the free Scantrust mobile app. There are three primary challenges for which we can help deliver fast, easy-to-implement solutions to the health sector to significantly mitigate the associated risks - those challenges are: counterfeiting; parallel imports; and the  incorrect use of test kits and PPE. We are currently in discussion with a number of healthcare companies that are interested in implementing our solution to protect against counterfeiting, both for Covid-19 test kits and for PPE.

Several PPE manufacturers have reported uncontrolled parallel imports of their products to countries they normally don’t sell to. This can lead to price gouging, supply chain challenges such as shortages, regulatory issues, and more. Many governments have put bans on parallel imports of PPE; however, there are currently limited ways to identify such occurrences. Each scan of a Scantrust QR code provides such intelligence, allowing for instant identification of products that are not in their intended market and the distribution channel responsible for this.

We have received feedback from numerous PPE manufacturers that end-users (e.g. healthcare workers) are often poorly informed about the appropriate use of specific PPE. With the shortage of critical medical supplies and the desperation for protection faced by many, this can lead to misuse of PPE with severe health consequences. Secure QR codes offer a way for PPE manufacturers to drive direct end-user engagement, once again by a simple scan and easy access to an informative mobile webpage, allowing for communication of the proper and intended usage of critical medical supplies. Easier, more readily available access to trustworthy information on PPE can save lives.