ReSC: RFID-Enabled Supply Chain Management and Traceability for Network Devices

The supply chains of today are much more complex, global, and difficult to manage than ever before. Disappearance/theft of authentic goods and appearance of counterfeit (cloned, forged, etc.) goods are two major challenges to address. As a result, owners, manufacturers, distributors, etc. are becoming more interested in approaches that facilitate greater visibility and enable traceability of products as they move through the supply chain. One promising approach is based on Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) where each product is equipped with a unique RFID tag that can be read in a contactless fashion to track the movement of products. However, existing RFID tags are simply “wireless barcodes” that are susceptible to split attacks (i.e., separating tag from product, swapping tags, etc.) and can easily be stolen or cloned. In this paper, we propose an RFID-enabled Supply Chain (ReSC) solution specific to network devices (i.e., routers, modems, set-top boxes, video game consoles, home security devices, etc.) that addresses the security and management issues of their entire supply chain. By combining two techniques: one-to-one mapping between tag identity and control chip identity, and unique tag trace which records tag history information, ReSC is resistant to counterfeit injection, product theft, and illegal network service (e.g., Internet, TV signals, online games, etc.) access. Simulations and experimental results based on a printed circuit board (PCB) prototype demonstrate the effectiveness of ReSC.