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Nano-scale 'fingerprint' could boost security


An atomic-scale fingerprint could boost the security of connected devices, according to British scientists who have developed it.
The tiny identity tags are essentially tiny imperfections in the building blocks of matter, making them virtually impossible to clone
They could be used as the basis of a robust system for authenticating hardware and software,
The researchers from the UK universities of Lancaster and Manchester built tiny, layered metallic structures in the lab and incorporated "design flaws" that were unique to the item.
"What you do is shrink these systems down as far as they will go," Dr Jonathan Roberts from Lancaster told BBC News.
"And the interesting thing is that you can't clone them. To clone them, you'd effectively have to measure [the fingerprints] atom-by-atom. You just can't do it."
"And the interesting thing is that you can't clone them. To clone them, you'd effectively have to measure [the fingerprints] atom-by-atom. You just can't do it."

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