Anti-Tampering Technology 'Rises'... Security Features Highlighted in Contactless Environments

Graph of annual patent application trends for forgery prevention technology from 2012 to 2019. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] As non-face-to-face (Un-tact) services, where people purchase goods or use services without meeting in person, become more active, anti-tampering and forgery prevention technologies are also gaining attention these days.

With the spread and prolongation of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the dependence on digital networks has increased, leading to heightened interest in digital tampering and forgery as well as cyber threats.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 23rd, patent applications related to digital data tampering and forgery prevention showed a relatively gradual increase from 42 cases in 2012 to 58 cases in 2017. However, in 2018, the number rose sharply by 30 cases to 88, and last year recorded 99 cases, showing a growing trend.

By technology field (2015?2019), out of a total of 350 cases, 191 cases (54.5%) focused on security and authentication for tampering and forgery prevention.

Following that, there were 74 cases (21.1%) related to integrity verification and anonymization, 59 cases (16.8%) for blockchain-based security system applications, 13 cases (3.7%) for metadata-based encryption applications, 7 cases (2%) for biometric-based user authentication applications, and 6 cases (1.7%) for symmetric key-based encryption applications.

In particular, since 2018, patent applications related to tampering and forgery prevention, security and authentication, and blockchain-based security systems have increased significantly, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office’s analysis.

This reflects the growing importance of personal information and public interest in blockchain technology, indicating a notable trend toward integrating and utilizing blockchain technology for digital data tampering and forgery prevention.

By applicant status, universities and research institutes accounted for the largest share with 157 cases (45%), followed by small and medium-sized enterprises with 123 cases (35%), foreign companies with 46 cases (13%), large corporations with 14 cases (4%), and individuals with 10 cases (3%).

Among the top applicants, the distribution included Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (22 cases), MarkAny and Infobank (15 cases), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST, 13 cases), Korea Electric Power Corporation (10 cases), Soongsil University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (8 cases), and Samsung Electronics (7 cases).

Park Je-hyun, head of the Computer Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “As non-face-to-face business becomes more active, the possibility of personal information and digital assets being exposed to others also increases. Along with this, market demand for digital data protection is rising, and the development and patent applications of anti-tampering and forgery prevention technologies reflecting this trend are expected to continue increasing.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.