Combating the flood of forgeries: ETH Zurich develops app against document forgery
A research team at ETH Zurich has developed a new app. It can check the authenticity of official documents. Even small details can be recognised. The app has been in pilot testing with the city of Zurich since March.
Whether university diplomas, character references or extracts from the debt collection register: if you live in Switzerland, you will need such documents on a regular basis. Be it in an application process, if you want to rent a flat or for certain visa applications. As these documents are still usually issued in paper form, it is not so easy for the verifying authorities to find out whether the documents are genuine.
This is where "thenti" comes in. With the app from the ETH spin-off of the same name, you can find out whether a document is genuine in a matter of seconds. You open the app and hold your smartphone in front of the document until "thenti" gives the green light.
Simple application, complex technology
As simple as this is for the user, the technology behind it is complex. Firstly, you need to know that the authority issuing the document adds a QR code to it. The original document is stored in encrypted form on the authority's server and the copy is sent to the recipient. If the QR code is scanned by the app, it is clear with which document stored on the server the comparison must take place.
The app takes (moving) images of the document and checks whether there has been any manipulation - for example, whether an entry has been deleted in Photoshop or whether other, even the smallest changes have been made. During development, it was very complex to exclude irrelevant changes from the comparison. If the paper has been creased, has a stain on it or similar. In order not to violate data protection regulations, the comparison takes place in real time. The document is therefore not saved during the scan.
Sabotaging the profitable counterfeiting business
It seems clear that there is a need for such an app. As BBC reports, forged diplomas are a million-dollar business. This problem is apparently also prevalent in Switzerland, specifically in the city of Zurich. Debt collection offices, for example from property management companies, are repeatedly asked about the authenticity of debt collection register extracts received. This is very time-consuming and expensive for landlords and landladies, but also for the authorities. This is why the debt collection offices in the city of Zurich have agreed to a pilot test, which has been running since the beginning of March. If successful, the app could also be used by other authorities.
And soon it will go even further: The "thenti" team is looking into expanding the app so that it could also be used to check the authenticity of three-dimensional objects. This could then be used to curb the import of counterfeit branded goods, for example.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.