Dutch electronics giant NXP has announced a type-four secure connected NFC tag to provide high-security authentication across healthcare, smart home, mobile and gaming accessories and peripherals, and industrial applications.

The NTag X DNA has 16kbyte of high-density memory, a high data rate and secure unique NFC (Sun) authentication to verify quickly and easily a product or device’s authenticity securely.

Designed to combat counterfeits and help manufacturers meet digital product passport (DPP) requirements, the tag lets mobile devices securely transfer data to another device via I²C or an NFC interface.

NFC provides a secure and easy way for consumers to verify securely the authenticity of a product prior to purchase, building brand trust and fighting against counterfeit products. Part of that fight includes the upcoming EU requirement of the use of a DPP by 2027, which includes a digital record of important information about a product’s composition, origin and lifecycle. The NTag X DNA makes it easier to meet these requirements by allowing this information to be securely stored and easy to access.

“Secure connected NFC tags improve the consumer experience, with dual interface functionality that makes device information, authentication and onboarding easily accessible with a single tap,” said Alasdair Ross, senior director at NXP. “Compatible with any NFC mobile device, the NTag X DNA, supported by NXP’s EdgeLock 2GO credential delivery service, offers a highly secure authentication experience across healthcare, smart IoT device, and mobile and gaming applications.”

The type-four secure connected NFC tag, with ISO/IEC 14443-4, supports NFC and I²C, as well as full device diagnostics through a direct connection to an MCU. Users can get assistance from the cloud with an NFC-enabled mobile phone. It features 16kbyte of memory to store and access device information securely for verification and authentication, even without power. This also allows sensitive information stored on the device to be removed, even if the device cannot be powered on, protecting user privacy. The high data rate of 848kbit/s allows a seamless user experience and performance improvements compared with previous generations.

The tag (www.nxp.com/products/NTAG-X-DNA) is highly secure, with Common Criteria EAL 6+ certification and supporting public key infrastructure (PKI)-based asymmetric cryptography and authentication. It is supported by NXP’s EdgeLock 2GO service (www.nxp.com/products/security-and-authentication/secure-service-2go-platform/edgelock-2go:EDGELOCK-2GO) for UID and certificates delivery, as well as generation of additional certificates.

NXP Semiconductors (www.nxp.com) has operations in more than 30 countries and posted revenue of $12.61bn in 2024.