In Authentication & Brand News™, March 2024, we reported on the US state of Georgia’s decision to adopt watermarks and reject QR codes on ballot papers. In May 2025, we highlighted Mohave County’s approval to add security features to its ballots for the 2026 midterm elections, in an effort to restore voter trust.

In June, police officials in India exposed a counterfeit postage stamp scam worth INR 25 million ($290,000), while last year, in the US, a California resident pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States Postal Service out of more than $150 million through fake stamps. Similarly, in the UK, Royal Mail investigated the mass counterfeiting of its new barcoded stamps after customers reported being forced to pay a £5 penalty to collect mail due to counterfeit stamps.

In the Authentication & Brand News™ March 2024 article 'Decoding Georgia Bills - No to QR Codes Yes to Watermark', we updated the usage of security features in ballot paper. We are now informed of developments in Mohave County, as it approved adding security features to its ballot paper for the 2026 midterm elections to restore voter trust.

TotalEnergies Lubrifiants has partnered with SCRIBOS (part of the KURZ group) to implement its ValiGate® Direct Print solution on lubricants.

State security printers in Asia are transforming as a result of a fast-changing economic and technological environment, from currency and secure document producers to digital identification and authentication providers.

Meta Materials, under its former name of Nanotech Security Corporation, has been a pioneer in banknote OVD technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano- and now plasmonic structures.

Koenig & Bauer Banknotes Solutions (KBBS) is forging ahead with its agenda to create physical-digital technology bridges with the announcement of two new partnerships linked to digital authentication.

A variety of new security features for banknotes have been launched this year, some of which may well find their way into or be adapted for use in other documents requiring protection against counterfeiting.

A research team at Hong Kong University is working on the development of an extremely precise 3D printing process that can be used to produce polarisation-encoded anti-counterfeiting labels.

The FINAT Sustainability Award has been held annually since 2014 to honour member initiatives that address environmental and social aspects of sustainability.