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Jul 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Security professionals charged with providing layered security (redundant assurance) for the storage and transportation of nuclear, biochemical, and other hazardous materials can now take advantage of an indicative seal from E J Brooks. Dubbed the Fiber Lock, this patent-pending, tamper-indicative system provides “fingerprint-unique” confidence that an intact seal is the same one that had been applied originally. This positive assurance verifies that the contents of storage and/or shipment are intact, or that a sensitive application has not been compromised.

The Fiber Lock system consists of a digital-imaging device and a seal bundle, which is constructed of randomly positioned, acrylic optical fibers. The digital image verifier is a patented, specially modified camera, which is encased within a protective, hardened plastic housing.

Once the seal has been correctly applied to a sensitive security application, the seal body is inserted into a slot in the verifier's housing. The verifier records a micrograph (extreme close-up photo) of the severed-ends of the fiber optic bundle. Each individual, fiber optic strand is as unique to that seal installation, as fingerprints are to an individual person.

The digital imagery of the fiber-optic bundle can be electronically forwarded to the shipment's destination or indefinitely filed electronically. Upon the shipment's arrival, or at any desired point along its route, the seal can be visually inspected for any sign of tampering by shining a flashlight on one end of the fiber bundle. If the remaining bundle is brightly illuminated, the seal is intact. At the shipment's final destination, the bundle is reverified by comparing the digital image with the electronically forwarded image taken at the point of origin. If the images are identical, it signifies that the seal has not been compromised and no unauthorized access has occurred. If they are different, tampering has occurred.

For more information, contact Brooks, Livingston NJ.