AUDITABLE AUTHENTICATION OF EVENT HISTORIES FOR SHIPPED AND STORED OBJECTS

摘要

This invention relates to a method and system for auditably authenticating the histories of events (e.g. temperature levels) experienced by objects (e.g. pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs, etc.) during storage in repositories such as warehouses and movable shipping vehicles. The method involves a) sensing an event experienced by an object; b) recording an event signal that defines the sensed event; c) transmitting a temporally ordered series of said event signals to a data storage apparatus, said data storage apparatus being operable to store said temporally ordered series of said event signals; and d) safeguarding the aforesaid data storage apparatus against alteration of said stored series of event signals. The safeguarding may be done by selecting a data storage apparatus which is unalterable, such as a write-once-only CD-R disc. Such use of an unalterable medium (e.g. CD-R) is especially appropriate where the repository is movable, such as a truck or railway car, since a CD-R drive can easily be located within the movable repository during shipment of the goods which are sensitive to temperature or other environmental events. Alternatively, safeguarding can be achieved by locating the aforesaid data storage apparatus at a secure location (e.g. KPMG or other auditor's offices) distant from the stored/shipped drugs to prevent data tampering. Moreover, the event data can be transmitted (wirelessly for movable repositories, by wired connection for a stationary repository such as a warehouse) to the distant location immediately, as the events occur (i.e. in "real time"), so that the event data is in secure hands (e.g. an independent auditor's) before it could possibly be altered. Furthermore, safeguarding may utilize a selected algorithm to calculate a pair of checksums based on a selected sequence of event signals, said pair of checksums having a selected relationship (e.g. being identical) in the event of data integrity, one of the two checksums being calculated from event signals generated at the repository (e.g. at a warehouse), the other checksum being calculated from event signals that have already been transmitted to the aforesaid data storage apparatus. Moreover, corresponding temporal (e.g. date/time) data may be stored together with each event signal, the temporal data being obtained from an independent source (e.g. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or a GPS satellite).