Wessex Technology OEP Ltd

05/08/2024

Food Businesses, we are bringing Traceability to Xero ….

Not only traceability, but the ability to make your food businesses processes run better

Introducing A-Trace

Accurate, Automated & Advanced Stock Management & Traceability
for Food Producers that use Xero

- Traceability is needed by law, A-Trace gives you full traceability from ingredient to customer.
- Clear stock labelling - helping staff do their work and be more efficient and accurate with stock rotation, allergen awareness to reduce risk and improve yield.
- Fully searchable, so you can know as a food producer what stock you have and how long you have to use it, to reduce wastage.

No more spreadsheets

Full traceability

Works with Xero

Contact us via https://countermark.com/contact-us

30/07/2024

QRishing is one of the most horrible words in the English language.

Horrible in what it sounds like - in my opinion anyway

Horrible in that a fake QR code takes your trust and sends your phone's web browser to a copy website where it can steal your money and login-credentials

Here is an article from Forbes by David Birch with a history of QR and other frauds.

Countermark is a safe alternative to QR codes
- Fully encrypted data
- Licenced creation and printing
- iOS and Android app
- Fully audited printing and reading (every print and every read
- Backed by Ethereum blockchain

(link to Forbes article)
https://lnkd.in/etW9XdwD

A fake sticker pictured at a charging station for electric car in Brussels city center, Wednesday 15 ... [+]BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

17/06/2024

QR codes are useful but can contain links to enterprise wrecking malware - just like email.

Countermark is a smarter, more secure way of attaching data to paper, products and electronic documents.

As a bonus Countermark is human readable, and it’s coding efficiency means that you only need to key 6-8 digits if you want to key Countermark manually.

The picture - is a Countermark garment tag.

More information at our website: https://countermark.com/

Link to Microsoft warning about QR codes: https://lnkd.in/eXz-rtF2

17/06/2024

Check out Countermark, a secure alternative to QR codes, human and machine readable, encrypted, licenced, controlled and safe for your users.

Free to use app for iOS and Android, works on screen, documents and products.

Learn about the latest ways threat actors manipulate human emotions. Details on quishing and the latest social engineering tactics.

Article Details: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/security-insider/emerging-threats/feeding-from-the-trust-economy-social-engineering-fraud/

22/05/2024

Wanna buy Graceland?

Allegedly fake documents are at the centre of a lawsuit concerning America's second most well known address.

Since the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 western society has relied on documents to underpin everything from laws, to property ownership to family relationships.

Even whether an aircraft spare is genuine or fake, is down to a piece of paper.

And never has faking documents been easier - that is why we developed Countermark for documents.

Take the document when it is created, sign it with a Countermark, store it, blockchain it, make it easy to verify, whether electronic, scanned, photographed, on paper or a posted photocopy.

For more information visit our website www.countermark.com

Article link: USA Today website
https://lnkd.in/eiEvSWtc

19/04/2024

U.S. Energy Giant Falls Victim to Unprecedented QR Code Phishing Attack

QR codes are free and easy to read and have now been used in an email Phishing attack on a US energy giant.

The attack is based on the fact that corporate and private email protection systems normally permit jpg, and pdf files in without checking these normally benign files for malicious QR codes.

QR codes themselves are embedded hyperlinks that direct users to websites, in this attack the link went to Bing, Salesforce and Cloudflare’s Web3 services - all of which could be legitimate links.

Normal QR attacks involving placing malicious QR codes where people would expect to see a QR code, on product leaflets, parking meters, billboards etc.

More information about the attack here (link to Cyber Daily website)

https://cyberdaily.securelayer7.net/u-s-energy-giant-falls-victim-to-unprecedented-qr-code-phishing-attack/

Countermark is a safe way to attach data to products and to documents. If you are designing a system and you want to keep users safe and don’t want to expose users to QR code attacks find out more at our website.

https://countermark.com/

12/04/2024

"... As sure as eggs is eggs"

(found in a dictionary of slang published in 1699)

We made Countermark the way it is because we knew that manufacturers, food producers and packaging lines already know all about using Continuous Ink Jet Print (CIJP) - the two rows of distinctive dot-based characters - sometimes with a logo - like on these eggs.

A lot of software people like QR codes because they don't have to do much work, readymade API's, libraries and, thanks to the pandemic, people know to point their phone at one when they see one. Software people are not worried about the risk of QR fraud, it is someone else's problem.

None of this makes it easier for manufacturers and packaging companies - they already have the knowledge, maintenance processes, print vendors in place for CIJP.

And for food processors, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) has all been evaluated figured out - the inks in the picture are safe to eat.

Countermark (see the laser marked stainless steel inset) uses this proven format to store any data that you like about the product. Human and machine readable, encrypted and designed to avoid the fraud that comes with QR codes.

As for the chickens - they couldn't give a cluck

More information visit www.countermark.com

15/12/2023

The paper form used to show that a repaired aircraft part is genuine is mandatory and has the same format all over the planet. So cannot be changed without regulatory effort on all continents.

The form is called Form1

It requires an original signature, and no way for the buyer to verify the signature.

We approached people some years ago about this risk.

We remind authorities again, we can digitally sign paper and PDF documents, in a way that we believe is very hard to counterfeit, and very easy to verify. And is fully compliant with the existing Form1 regulations - so can be used now

(Countermark is hosted on the Microsoft Cloud and uses Ethereum blockchain for data integrity)

More information at www.countermark.com

Article link daily mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12837757/AOG-Technics-founder-arrested-fraud-fake-aircraft-parts.html

Fraud detectives in Britain have arrested the founder of a firm which allegedly sold thousands of bogus jet engine parts which were fitted in aircraft around the world.

15/12/2023

Jet engine maker CFM International said thousands of engine components may have been sold with forged paperwork by AOG Technics.

Countermark stops this type of fraud.

The aerospace industry uses a standard FORM1, to vouchsafe repaired and resold parts. The only authentication is a signature that the buyer cannot compare with the genuine signature.

Countermark can be used to authenticate Certificates of Conformity (CoC’s) like FORM1 used in aircraft parts, with no changes to regulations on how FORM1 should be used.

A sample FORM1 is in the first comment, to check it, scan the Countermark on the form using the Countermark App, if you have given the App your email address and confirmed it, the Countermark servers will email a copy of the original document to you (the Countermark App requires a registered email address with GDPR acceptance confirmation).

Do you think the aviation industry should continue to mandate easy to fake paperwork?

Answer this question while thinking of the last time you took your family abroad for a holiday. Let me know in the comments

For more information about Countermark visit our website Countermark.com

Link to article by Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/faa-issues-alert-inspect-some-jet-engines-unapproved-part-2023-09-21/

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert on Thursday warning that unapproved parts might be installed in certain General Electric model CF6 jet engines, telling owners to inspect planes or inventories for the parts.

27/10/2023

At the University of Wales Trinity St David this week - introducing Countermark as a blockchain backed traceability tool.

UWTSD is developing and showcasing factory 4.0 including a range of digital technologies to enhance the competitiveness of Welsh businesses. Their workshop is set up to show case the technology, train personnel and support technology adoption.

Also in the program is additive manufacture, digital twins for factory floor and process optimisation, robotics, IoT and net zero modelling.

I am proud to be part of this program.

02/10/2023

Countermark will be on display on Tuesday at Ffatri 4.0 - Showcasing the Future for Welsh Industry

The Welsh Government wants to help Welsh industry exploit the opportunities that technology like blockchain can bring by improving innovation and enhancing product quality.

Wessex will be showcasing Countermark as a simple to use full traceability application that also gives customer engagement capability.

British supermarkets require full traceability before they will consider selling produce from small scale food or drinks producers.

Countermark based customer engagement gives clear data to food producers where and when food is consumed. This can be used to hone marketing activities and understand the actual shelf life of products.

(More on the event)
https://www.amrc.co.uk/events/ffatri-4-0-showcasing-the-future-for-welsh-industry

More about Countermark
https://countermark.com/

02/10/2023

Countermark – a different type of data carrier, for different language types:

Encrypted and controlled, cannot be faked and spoofed like QR-codes. Countermark keeps people safe from QR based cybercrime

Human readable, so can be integrated into invoices and delivery notes. Putting the traceability data into financial records simplifies audits even after the product is consumed.

Human readable, in most of the planet, currently available in 4 different fonts, so human readable does mean just that, other fonts can be added.

Latin (top) for most of Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia

Katakana (2nd row) for Japan

Cyrillic (3rd row) for Russia, Greece and other parts of Eastern Europe

Chinese (4th row) for China and Taiwan