WISeKey Announcement Swiss Intrinsic The safety of watchmakers Brand Protection

WISeKey adds NFT service for high-end and vintage luxury watches

WISeKey was the first company in the world to use two-factor authentication combined with blockchain technology to secure luxury watches, and currently protects over 2.5 million luxury watches.

This technology has received a patent in the USA (see patent here)

GENEVA – May 10, 2022: WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (“WISeKey”) (SIX: WIHN, WKEY), a global leader in cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain and IoT, today announced a new Swiss Intrinsic The safety of watchmakers Brand protection.

Counterfeiting is a huge and growing problem for the luxury industry. Not only are the revenues and reputation of the original manufacturers at stake, but the end customers are also impacted (quality issues, reliability issues, etc.). One of the solutions to combat counterfeiting is to digitally identify and authenticate the goods to be protected. For example, a secure element with unique secret keys can be placed in or on a watch to prove the identity of the watch, similar to how an electronic passport proves the identity of a passenger. For some luxury industries, electronic components are very badly perceived because they can spoil the general impression of luxury.

Today, there is no effective way to mechanically and effectively secure a piece of silicon (security element) in the (often metallic) environment of a watch or other luxury item. Therefore, such a secure element could easily go from a genuine watch to a fake one, or from a low-cost model to an expensive one. Similarly, an electronic passport without biometric registration could be stolen and used by anyone.

The secure element for digitally proving the identity of a luxury good (watch, etc.) is no longer a “dirty” external part artificially affixed on/in the product. It is fully integrated and becomes an integral part of the product. The overall perception of luxury is intact.

This secure element is no longer an external part that can be moved to another product, it becomes an intrinsic part of the product it protects, like a DNA signature. This seriously strengthens the proof of identity/authenticity. Since the secure element is intrinsically integrated into an asset to be protected, it does not require any particular manipulation. The traditional, entirely handmade assembly of the property is still possible and the artisanal environment of luxury is respected.

The authenticity of the luxury product can be easily proven by verifying the digital identity (secret keys) contained in the on-board secure element by standard cryptographic transactions between this “chip” and an external authentication device. Different interfaces are possible (contact and contactless).

The embedded secure element can also contain the complete certified history of the luxury product, from manufacturing to customers, which solves the complexity of tracing these products. In addition, the silicon used to manufacture the mechanical parts offers additional useful characteristics (shape memory effect, thermal stability, etc.).

Our proposal in detail

The method that we propose in this invention can be summarized as follows:

1. The mechanical part which will be included in the luxury product to be protected is laser cut in a piece of silicon which embeds the secure element which has been previously prepared in an ordinary semiconductor factory.
2. The embedded secure element is an ordinary secure microcontroller which provides the communication interfaces necessary for the application (contact or contactless) and which can be powered by contact or by induction.
3. The embedded secure element is provisioned with the digital identity (secret keys) once the luxury product is initially uniquely authenticated by the brand.
4. Depending on the physical integration and the use case, the secure element is accessible for authentication or traceability either through the envelope of the asset or after having opened it for inspection or maintenance.

WISeKey’s NFT technology creates Watch Birth Certificates, digital identities that are analogous to birth certificates and can be converted to NFT. The watch’s birth certificate is signed or “certified” by a trusted authority and contains basic information such as date and time of manufacture (birth), company (parents), and product type. This digital identity, used throughout the life of the watch, allows the watch to become a “Trusted Object” of the Internet, to prove its identity and to provide verifiable data.
The Watch Birth Certificate is based on a public-private cryptographic key pair unique to each IoT device. The public key for this key pair is part of the certificate and can be distributed freely, while the private key is used whenever the IoT device needs to verify its identity or sign data to ensure cryptographic integrity. It is the private key that represents the essence of the identity of the IoT device.

About WISeKey
WISeKey (WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large-scale digital identity ecosystems for people and things using Blockchain, AI, and IT. ‘IoT while respecting the human being as the pivot of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing that shapes today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an installed base of over 1.6 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, phones laptops, cryptographic tokens, etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of IoT, as our semiconductors produce an enormous amount of Big Data which, when analyzed with artificial intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications predict failure of their equipment before it occurs.

Our technology is endorsed by the Swiss-based cryptographic root of trust (“RoT”) of OISTE/WISeKey which provides secure authentication and identification, in physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, blockchain and artificial intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions between objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

Press and investor contacts:
WISeKey International Holding Ltd
Company Contact: Carlos Moreira
CEO
Tel: +41 22 594 3000
[email protected]

WISeKey Investor Relations (USA)
Contact: Lena Cati
Equity Group Inc.
Tel: +1 212 836-9611
[email protected]

Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements regarding WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed. or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities and does not constitute an offer prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the French Code of Obligations. nor a listing prospectus. within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors should rely on their own assessment of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is or should be taken as a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.