DUST Identity FAQ

Question 1

What is DUST?

Accepted Answer

DUST stands for Diamond Unclonable Security Tag. It is a nano-engineered coating made of microscopic diamond crystals suspended in a high-performance polymer matrix. When applied to any surface, the diamonds settle into a completely random pattern — unique in both position and crystal orientation — that is physically impossible to replicate or clone. An optical scanner reads the diamond fingerprint and links it to a tamper-evident digital record in the DICE platform, giving every tagged object a permanent, verifiable identity. DUST is not a barcode, QR code, RFID tag, NFC chip, or hologram — those are identifiers that can be copied, removed, or transferred to a counterfeit. DUST is different: the identity is the object itself.

Question 2

How does DUST work?

Accepted Answer

Three steps create a digital thread: (1) DUSTing — the diamond-polymer coating is applied to the object during manufacture or intake. The coating is invisible to the naked eye and can be applied at an area as small as 0.0025 mm². (2) Enrolling — an optical scanner captures the unique diamond fingerprint and registers it in the DICE platform as the object's digital birth certificate. All associated documentation can be attached at this point. (3) Enabling — once enrolled, the object carries an unlimited amount of information and generates insights as it moves through the supply chain. Authentication is instantaneous — any scan compares the live fingerprint against the enrolled record and returns a pass or tamper-alert result in seconds.

Question 3

Why diamonds?

Accepted Answer

Diamond is the hardest known material and is chemically inert, heat-resistant, and mechanically durable. The inherent randomness of how diamond crystals land and cure in a polymer creates a reservoir of entropy analogous to biometrics. DUST can generate more than 10^230 unique fingerprints — more distinct combinations than there are atoms in the observable universe. Cloning is mathematically impossible, not merely impractical. Dust Identity uses lab-grown or recycled industrial-grade nanodiamonds. The material costs approximately $0.00001 per item at industrial scale.

Question 4

Why do existing solutions like barcodes, RFID, and holograms fall short?

Accepted Answer

Physical solutions — barcodes, QR codes, RFID, NFC, holograms, labels — are identifiers, not proof of authenticity. They can be cheaply copied, physically removed from a genuine item and reattached to a counterfeit, or purchased in bulk and reused on fake products. Digital solutions — databases and blockchains — create trust in records, not in products. They lack a secure link to the physical item. DUST solves both problems simultaneously by providing physics-based, unclonable authentication that enhances existing digital identity systems including QR, RFID, and NFC.

Question 5

What is the DICE platform?

Accepted Answer

DICE is Dust Identity's cloud-based authentication and lifecycle management platform. It stores enrolled DUST fingerprints, records every scan event and custody transfer, hosts associated documentation, and provides real-time visibility across global supply chains. DICE supports authenticated custody transfers, traceability events, recall workflows, chain-of-custody reporting, compliance automation for the EU Digital Product Passport and ESG metrics, and APIs and SDKs for ERP, PLM, MES, and CRM systems including SAP HANA Cloud. Deployment options include Cloud, Private (on-premise), Air-gapped, and GovCloud.

Question 6

How durable is DUST?

Accepted Answer

DUST has been validated to MIL-STD-810G environmental standards. The coating passes: altitude to 71,000 feet; 95% humidity for 240 hours; UV exposure for 300 hours; salt fog for 400 hours; vibration 2–5,000 Hz across X/Y/Z axes; mechanical shock at 20 G's; temperature shock from -60°C to +85°C; aerospace fluids including JP-5, JP-8, hydraulic fluid, and deicing chemicals; extended saltwater immersion for more than two years; and submersion to approximately 1,700 metres. Validated substrates include metals, composites, polymers, glass, ceramics, fabric, and paper.

Question 7

What is a physical unclonable function (PUF)?

Accepted Answer

A physical unclonable function is a device or material whose physical microstructure is so complex and random that it cannot be duplicated — even by the original manufacturer. DUST is a PUF: the diamond fingerprint arises from natural entropy during application. This is fundamentally different from any identifier that encodes a number, because numbers can be copied and numbers can be stolen. A PUF cannot. DUST operates at an entropy scale of more than 10^230 unique states — far beyond silicon PUF implementations.

Question 8

Can DUST be applied at any point in the supply chain, or only at manufacture?

Accepted Answer

DUST can be enrolled at any custody point — manufacture, incoming inspection, depot maintenance, or pre-deployment. Once enrolled, the identity travels with the object for its entire lifecycle.

Question 9

Does DUST replace existing ERP, blockchain, or digital identity systems?

Accepted Answer

No. DUST augments existing systems. It works alongside QR codes, RFID, and NFC as a physics-based authentication layer. APIs and SDKs connect DICE into ERP, PLM, MES, and CRM systems. Blockchain anchoring (including Algorand) is supported for organisations requiring a decentralised tamper-evident ledger.

Question 10

Is the DICE platform available for air-gapped or classified environments?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DICE can be deployed fully on-premise or in air-gapped and GovCloud configurations, with no cloud connectivity required.

Question 11

How much does it cost to apply DUST?

Accepted Answer

The diamond-dust coating costs approximately $0.00001 per item at industrial scale. Platform, hardware, and integration costs depend on deployment scope and are designed with the customer on a programme basis. There is no minimum volume requirement.

Question 12

What is the EU Digital Product Passport and how does DUST support it?

Accepted Answer

The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a regulatory requirement for products sold in the EU to carry a verifiable digital record of their origin, materials, and sustainability credentials, phasing in by product category from 2026. DUST provides the physical-digital binding that anchors the DPP data to the specific product — ensuring the passport cannot be transferred to a counterfeit item. Dust Identity's DICE platform is designed to support the DPP data structure and automates DPP compliance reporting.

Question 13

How does DUST defend against AI-enabled counterfeiting and document fraud?

Accepted Answer

Generative AI has lowered the cost of forging certificates, airworthiness tags, and test reports to near zero. DUST is immune to this because its authentication mechanism operates on quantum-level optical properties of diamond crystals — properties that cannot be generated, synthesized, or faked by software. The identity lives on the object, not on a document. When documentation fails, physics wins.

Question 14

How does DUST support NDAA Section 818 counterfeit parts requirements for defense contractors?

Accepted Answer

Section 818 of the NDAA (codified in DFARS clauses 252.246-7007 and 252.246-7008) requires defense contractors to implement counterfeit electronic part detection and avoidance systems. DUST directly addresses these requirements by providing physics-based authentication at incoming inspection, generating verifiable chain-of-custody records, and creating an audit trail that supports GIDEP reporting. The A4 Data framework — Available, Accurate, Attributable, and Anchored — maps directly to the documentation integrity requirements of DFARS 252.246-7007.

Question 15

What happens to authentication data if we stop using DUST or change vendors?

Accepted Answer

All authentication data in the DICE platform belongs to the customer. On termination of a DICE subscription, customers receive a full export of their data in standard formats — JSON, CSV, and blockchain records. The DUST coatings applied to physical objects remain in place permanently and do not expire because the subscription ended. Dust Identity offers data escrow arrangements and open documentation of the fingerprint encoding format.

Frequently Asked Questions

Topics

The problem: why counterfeit and fraudulent parts matter

How DUST compares to other authentication methods

Regulatory compliance and standards

Technical deep dives

Evaluating and deploying DUST: buyer questions

AI, emerging threats, and the future of physical authentication

Glossary: key terms in physical authentication and supply chain security

Questions by role: what different stakeholders need to know

Luxury goods and the secondary market

Authentication in luxury resale and second-hand marketplaces

DICE platform: digital thread management, permissions, data transfer, and AI fraud detection

Build on identity that cannot be copied