Feature: Consumer electronics
Figure 1: Secure water filter with integrated NFC Among the available technologies, near field communication (NFC)
NFC-enabled security for consumer electronic systems
By Marco A. Ramirez Castro, Embedded Systems Engineer, Analog Devices
S
ecure authentication is essential in today’s interconnected world – for protecting critical data, safety-related information and consumables. From consumer electronics to healthcare and industrial systems, verifying the authenticity and integrity of components is crucial. Secure authenticators help
devices reject unauthorised, counterfeit or expired components that could compromise quality, safety or regulatory compliance. With growing concerns over data security and product authenticity, companies are seeking advanced solutions to ensure the integrity of their systems.
34 July/August 2026
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
offers a practical solution for close range, contactless interaction without a large power supply. Positioned between wired and wireless systems, NFC provides benefits for portable or consumable products that require frequent replacement or movement. NFC’s contactless design eliminates physical wear points, improving durability, reliability and ease of component replacement – particularly when authenticated parts are swapped or handled regularly. NFC also has advantages over wireless protocols like Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth. While these provide broader connectivity, their longer range increases the potential attack surface, requiring robust encryption to prevent interception or unauthorised access. NFC’s short range (typically a few centimetres) supports secure, deliberate interactions at the point of use. It is also low power, allowing tags or transponders to be passively powered by the reader. And unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth which require ongoing power, NFC remains dormant until activated, improving energy efficiency.
Near field communication NFC operates at 13.56MHz, allowing it to be widely used in contactless payment systems, secure access and product authentication. Although some NFC protocols fall under the NFC umbrella without being ISO or IEC compliant, most implementations follow ISO/IEC standards (14443 and 15693) to ensure compatibility and ease of integration across industries. Te technology operates through magnetic induction between two
devices: a reader and a tag. Te reader’s antenna generates an alternating magnetic field that powers a passive tag by inducing current in its coil. Once powered, the tag can send data back to the reader by modulating the magnetic field – a method known as “load modulation” – while the reader sends data using amplitude modulation. Tis arrangement enables a compact, power-efficient design, with the tag drawing only a small amount of energy (microwatt to low milliwatt range) to perform its operations. However, while NFC offers convenience and flexibility, it also has
inherent security limitations. Among these are short-range security and data integrity risks, as well as the risk of counterfeited tags. Even with close proximity requirements, NFC can still be vulnerable to eavesdropping, interception and relay attacks. Equally, standard NFC tags may lack mechanisms for secure expiration tracking or usage
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