NAND flash can verify a device's identity

"There's a lot of counterfeit in the [supply] chain," said analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Innovation Associates. It can be hard to detect, because the chain is not always as simple as a device maker contracting with one flash manufacturer to supply the chips for an entire production run of consumer devices, he said. System vendors need to fill unexpected surges in demand, so they often buy small lots of chips on the open market.

The research

Swanson proposed another possible use of the research: to prevent counterfeiting of devices just as cellphones and tablets that contain flash. It could as well be used by governments to determine whether spies had swapped an official's phone with a seemingly identical one in other words bugged, he said.

"I think if someone wanted to do this, they could do it now," Swanson said. The innovation could be licensed to manufacturers, who would create a database of results for each of the chips that ships out of the factory. No manufacturers have approached Swanson's team but, he said. The technology was first presented last month.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com