Title of Invention

"A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING COUNTERFEITING OF CURRENCY NOTES"

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes. The method involves is identifying the security parameters of a currency note that can be used for preventing counterfeiting and using an public key infrastructure encryption algorithm for generating a unique electronic signature for the currency note based on the said security parameters. This electronic signature is then placed on the currency note so that it can be verified by the end user for establishing the authenticity of the currency note.

Full Text

The present invention relates to a.method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes. Background Of The Invention A currency note can broadly be defined as any medium of exchange used for purchasing goods and services under the contract with the Government. Rupee is the currency that is used in the Indian economy. However, a number of other currencies exist in today's economy worldwide. Counterfeiting is a problem that is faced by almost all currencies of the world. Only the scale of counterfeiting of a particular currency differs from that of others. Counterfeit currency notes that are exact replicas of genuine currency notes are produced by agencies that have the entire physical infrastructure similar to that of government authorised agencies to produce currency notes. This infrastructure allows the counterfeiting agencies to duplicate features that are added on to genuine currency notes using conventional methods to distinguish them from a counterfeit. These features include imprinting of a watermark, placing a gold or silver line, printing a signature of an authorised person of the issuing authority and placing a serial number and denominator exactly as on the genuine notes that are in market circulation. The problem is aggravated by the fact that banks and financial institutions do not have an easy to use authentication or verification method that they can use for identifying counterfeits. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that can prevent large scale counterfeiting of currency notes in the organised sector in order to provide a high level of security and to detect fraudulent currency notes easily. Object And Summary Of The Invention The object of the invention is to overcome the above drawbacks and provide a method for controlling counterfeit currency notes by allowing easy authentication of genuine notes. To achieve this object the present invention provides a method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes comprising the steps of: - identifying security parameters of a currency note that can be used for preventing counterfeiting, - using an public key infrastructure encryption algorithm for generating a unique electronic signature for the currency note based on the said security parameters, - placing the said electronic signature on the currency note, and - verifying the electronic signature for establishing the authenticity of the currency note. The step of generating a unique electronic signature for the currency note comprises the steps of: - generating a hash value based on the said security parameters, and - encrypting the said hash value using a private key to obtain a unique electronic signature. The said security parameters include name of the authorized signatory of the issuing authority, denomination and serial number of the currency note. The said security parameters include pixel value of the location of the currency note's characteristic features including the emblem and denomination that have a fixed predefined position on the face of the note. The step of verifying the electronic signature for establishing the authenticity of the currency note comprises the steps of: - deriving the hash value from the electronic signature put in the currency note at the time of printing, - generating the hash value again at the user end based on the same security parameters that were used at the time of generating the electronic signature, and - matching the said newly generated hash value to the decrypted hash value to determine if the note is a counterfeit in case the hash values differ. The electronic signature is verified using a hand held device. The electronic signature is verified using a conventional computing device. The electronic signature is verified using a special purpose currency counting device. In addition, the invention also provides a system for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes comprising: - means for generating a unique electronic signature for a currency note using user defined security parameters, - means for placing the said electronic signature on a currency note, - means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note by identifying the said electronic signature. The means for generating the electronic signature is a system comprising: - at least one central processing unit, - at least one system bus - at least one communication unit connected to the system bus, and - at least one memory unit connected to the system bus, containing: - means for processing said security inputs to generate a hash value based on the said security parameters, and - means for generating a unique electronic signature using public key encryption algorithm for placing on the currency note. The means for placing the said electronic signature on a currency note includes a printer. The means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a hand held computing device. The means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a conventional computing device. The means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a special purpose currency-counting device. Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows the method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes provided by the present invention. Figure 2 shows the verification of the authenticity of a currency note using the present invention. Figure 3 shows the computing system used in the present invention. Detailed description of the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows the method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes provided by the present invention. The first step of the method is to identify the security parameters of a currency note that can be used for preventing counterfeiting. These parameters are of two types: Fixed and Variable. Fixed parameters are those that do not change from currency note to currency note of the same denomination and of the same batch of notes, while the variable ones change. Examples of fixed parameters are name of the authorised signatory, denomination and the pixel value of the location of a currency note's characteristic features including the emblem and denomination that have a fixed predefined position on the face of the note. An example of a variable parameter is the serial number of a note. These parameters are inputted to a computing system 1.1 that generates a hash value based on these parameters. This hash value is then encrypted using a private key to obtain a unique electronic signature 1.2. The private key used in this encryption can be kept on a smart card or hardware token for maximizing protection. On the other hand, the public key is distributed to end users along with the security parameters that were used to generate the hash value so that they can easily verify the authenticity of the currency note. The said electronic signature 1.2 is then placed onto the currency note using a printer 1.3. The currency note 1.4 that is generated after using this process can be easily verified for its authenticity. In another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic signature can be generated at the time of printing itself. In this system, an ordinary currency printer can be made to interface with a computing system to provide it with the serial number of the note to be printed. Using this input along with other security parameters, the computing system can generate the electronic signature on the fly and pass it to the printer for placing on the note. Figure 2 shows the verification of the authenticity of a currency note using the present invention. In the preferred embodiment shown in this figure, verification of the currency note is done using a hand held device. This device decrypts the hash value encoded in the electronic signature using the public key corresponding to the private key used to generate the signature. This decrypted value is then matched by the hash value that is generated by the device at its end using the same security parameters that were used to generate it at the time of printing. Authenticity of the note is established once the hash values match. If they do not match, then the user can easily detect that the note is a counterfeit. In another embodiment, a scanner connected to a conventional computing device can also be used to perform the verification function. This easy verification process can help to reduce the large scale counterfeiting of notes practised by the organised sector. Figure 3 shows a computing system capable of generating a unique electronic signature for placing on a currency note for controlling counterfeiting. The computing system 3.1 consists of various subsystems interconnected with the help of a system bus 3.2. The security parameters to be used for generating the electronic signature are inputted through the keyboard 3.10, mouse 3.11 and other input devices connected to the computer system through the I/O interface 3.9. The system 3.1 incorporates a storage device 3.5 used for storing the means for processing said security inputs to generate a unique electronic signature using known encryption algorithms. The said means are loaded into the memory 3.4 of the computing system 3.1, through the communication bus 3.2. The memory 3.4 holds the current instructions to be executed by the processor 3.3 along with their results. The processor 3.3 executes the instructions encoded in the said means to generate the electronic signature that is placed on the currency note using a printer connected to the computing system 3.1 through the I/O interface 3.9. The processor 3.3 used to execute the means could be a microprocessor in case of a PC, a dedicated semiconductor chip or any other device capable of functioning as a electronic computer. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the aforementioned means are instructions for operating on a computing system. The means are capable of existing in an embedded form within the hardware of the computing system or may be embodied on various computer readable media. The computer readable media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular information processing system. Computer program means or a computer program in the present context mean any expression, in any language, code, or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having information processing capability to perform the particular Sanction either directly or after performing either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation b) reproduction in a different material form. The depicted example in Figure 3 is not meant to imply architectural limitations and the configuration of the incorporating computing system of the means may vary depending on the implementation. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for executing the means described herein can be employed for practicing the invention. A typical combination of hardware and software could be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that when loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the means described herein. Other examples of the incorporating computing system that may be used are notebook computers or hand held computers in addition to taking the form of a PDA, web kiosks or even Web appliances. In addition to the hand held device, a conventional computing device or a specially adapted currency counting device can also perform the verification function at the end user. We claim: 1. A method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes comprising the steps of: - identifying security parameters of a currency note that can be used for preventing counterfeiting, - using an public key infrastructure encryption algorithm for generating a unique electronic signature for the currency note based on the said security parameters, - placing the said electronic signature on the currency note, and - verifying the electronic signature for establishing the authenticity of the currency note. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of generating a unique electronic signature for the currency note comprises the steps of: - generating a hash value based on the said security parameters, and - encrypting the said hash value using a private key to obtain a unique electronic signature. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said security parameters include name of the authorized signatory of the issuing authority, denomination and serial number of the currency note. 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said security parameters include pixel value of the location of the currency note's characteristic features including the emblem and denomination that have a fixed predefined position on the face of the note. 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of verifying the electronic signature for establishing the authenticity of the currency note comprises the steps of: - deriving the hash value from the electronic signature put in the currency note at the time of printing, - generating the hash value again at the user end based on the same security parameters that were used at the time of generating the electronic signature, and - matching the said newly generated hash value to the decrypted hash value to determine if the note is a counterfeit in case the hash values differ. 6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic signature is verified using a hand held device. 7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic signature is verified using a special purpose currency counting device. 8. A system for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes comprising: - means for generating a unique electronic signature for a currency note using user defined security parameters, - means for placing the said electronic signature on a currency note, - means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note by identifying the said electronic signature. 9. The system as claimed in claim 8 wherein, the means for generating the electronic signature is a system comprising: - at least one central processing unit, - at least one system bus - at least one communication unit connected to the system bus, and - at least one memory unit connected to the system bus, containing: - means for processing said security inputs to generate a hash value based on the said security parameters, and - means for generating a unique electronic signature using public key encryption algorithm for placing on the currency note. 10. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein means for placing the said electronic signature on a currency note includes a printer. 11. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a hand held computing device. 12. The system as claimed in claim- 8, wherein means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a conventional computing device. 13. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means for verifying the authenticity of the currency note is a special purpose currency-counting device. 14. A method for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 15. A system for controlling counterfeiting of currency notes substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

1286-del-2003-abstract.pdf

1286-del-2003-claims.pdf

1286-del-2003-complete specification (granted).pdf

1286-del-2003-correspondence-others.pdf

1286-del-2003-correspondence-po.pdf

1286-del-2003-description (complete).pdf

1286-del-2003-drawings.pdf

1286-del-2003-form-1.pdf

1286-del-2003-form-19.pdf

1286-del-2003-form-2.pdf

1286-del-2003-form-3.pdf

1286-del-2003-gpa.pdf

1286-del-2003-petition-137.pdf