- SmartWater
SmartWater is an anti-
criminal system marketed in the United Kingdom by Smartwater Technology Ltd.It consists of a liquid containing a code which can be read under
ultraviolet light. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4643949.stm Water used to out-smart thieves] BBC News, 2 July, 2005] It is intended to be applied to valuable items, so that if they are stolen and later seized by police, their original owner can be determined. Another proposed application is a system that sprays aburglar with the (invisible)fluid , which can't be washed off and lasts for months, to generate evidence which connects a suspect to a specific location. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4213358.stm 'Guilty burglars detected by glow'] -BBC News,2005 -09-04 ]Development of SmartWater was started in the mid-1990s by Phil Cleary, a retired senior police detective and CEO of SmartWater Ltd, and his brother Mike Cleary, a chemist.Robert Andrews: [http://wired-vig.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/02/66595?currentPage=all Digital Water Marks Thieves]
Wired News, 15 February 2005]SmartWater comes in two variants, "Instant" and "Tracer", which use different techniques to embed such a code - which, according to Phil Cleary, by allowing "millions of chemical signatures" is an
identifier superior togenetic fingerprinting DNA."The "Instant" variant consists mainly of a
copolymer ofvinyl acetate andcrotonic acid inisopropyl alcohol . [ [http://www.smartwater.com/docs/MSDS-Instant.aspx SmartWater Instant - Material Safety Data Sheet] SmartWater Technology Ltd, 9 February 2005] This fluid contains millions of tiny fragments; a unique number called "SIN" ("SmartWater identification number") and registered in a national police database together with the owner's details, is etched into each of those particles.The "Tracer" variant is a polymer emulsion [ [http://www.smartwater.com/docs/MSDS---INDSOL-TRACER.aspx IndSol Tracer Solutions - Material Safety Data Sheet] SmartWater Technology Ltd, 9 February 2005] which blends different chemical agents according to a binary code allowing 10 billion different possibilities, as stated by the company.
Security expert
Bruce Schneier has pointed out that abuse of SmartWater is possible, because an owner of a personalised solution can easily administer it to other people's valuable items. [ [http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/02/smart_water.html Schneier on Security: Smart Water] February 10, 2005]References
External links
* [http://www.smartwater.com/ www.smartwater.com]
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