Market News
--------------------------------------------------
NEOM NEOMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES INC
--------------------------------------------------
NeoMedia Technologies and Secure Source Technologies Employ Patented Security Used by 400-Plus Companies to Fight War Against Consumer and Industrial Fraud
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003 01:02 PM
FT. MYERS, Fla., Sep 17, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Patented security techniques, which have been used by more than 400 domestic and international companies to safeguard information, are the newest weapons in a war being waged against consumer and industrial fraud by NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: NEOM), and Secure Source Technologies, Inc. (SST), a company NeoMedia has announced plans to acquire.
When NeoMedia announced plans to acquire and merge with Washington, D.C. area-based SST (see "NeoMedia Signs LOI to Acquire Secure Source Technologies, including Patents with Homeland Security and Wireless Industry Applications," Business Wire, July 28), it "was a big step in using technology to help protect information that is essential to stopping consumer and industrial fraud," said Jon Greene, SST's CEO.
"SST and NeoMedia are now taking dead aim at combating fraud stemming from non- or poorly-secured information and documents. We are pooling our patented technologies to wage this all-important war," he said.
Greene cited document and product packaging counterfeiting as a $600 billion national disaster (as reported in USA Today, April 27, 2003), testimony by Ronald K. Noble, secretary general of Interpol, to the House Committee on International Relations that terrorist such as Al Quada and Hezbollah traffic in counterfeit consumer goods to fund their activities, and even the Federal Trade Commission survey released two weeks ago which showed that more than 27 million Americans have been victims of "identity theft" in the past five years.
'Patents and IP Keys to Acquisition'
"Jon Greene and SST have unique expertise in fighting fraud," said Chas Fritz, NeoMedia's chairman, who cited SST's patents, intellectual properties and know-how as "keys to the proposed acquisition and merger." Fritz said that through the end of 2002, SST's IP and patents had generated more than $900,000 in licenses, fees and royalties, and that a broad range of more than 400 companies, including NeoMedia, have licensed, paid fees or royalties for use of the patents or purchased products incorporating the patents and IP.
U.S. Currency as a Barometer for Counterfeiting Trends
"U.S. currency seems to be a barometer for counterfeiting trends," said Greene. "Until recently, our currency changed only once during the 20th century. Now there have been three changes in 10 years, and more modifications may well no doubt be made in the future while fraud remains so rampant."
One of the many security features on new currency, he said, is UV (for ultra violet) ink, an area of great expertise and experience of Greene and SST.
"UV ink is a commonly accepted security feature for many documents and packaging," he said, "but by itself, it's much like putting a finger in a leaky dike because you have to know it's there in the first instance, and usually it's just static. However, UV is a great medium to build from because it can 'survive' digitization or image scanning, meaning it has been made 'intelligent' by SST and other innovators. Bar codes printed with invisible ink, along with visible data or similar codes on a document, ID cards or product packaging, are extremely powerful weapons against counterfeits, and can be read and processed by NeoMedia's patented PaperClick(TM) technology platform. That's an example of how NeoMedia and SST are teaming up to fight the security battle."
Issuers will soon be able to leverage the power of encrypted information with covert ink, said Greene. "With the advent of UV ink on money people are getting used to checking for its presence," noting that UV document verifiers for bills and checks are now standard in many of Bank of America's 4,200 branches nationwide.
"The awareness and use of UV ink has become mainstream now," he said. "It provides a solid and safer base from which to leverage the combination of our newest patented solutions and applications employing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), encompassing cryptology and digital signatures on the Internet and in documents, advances in image capture devices, and the speed of Internet." He said SST's patented technology and methods have been used since 1994 by some of the largest security printers and banks in the US and abroad to protect their negotiable instruments
|
Thread abonnieren
