The "Dark Web" And Counterfeit Items

Dr. Jon Kellar and Associate Professor Dr. Grant Crawford discuss Anti-Counterfeiting Technology. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Dakota State University researchers are working with a team of officials and scientists to help combat the online sale of counterfeit goods and art. Researchers purchased items from accredited websites. They then went to part of the internet called the “dark web,” where online traffic can’t be easily tracked, and purchased similar items they suspected to be counterfeit. They subjected all items to laboratory testing and found non-genuine components in the products purchased on the dark web. They will participate in the monthly STEAM Café which is the third Tuesday of each month at the Hay Camp in Rapid City. This presentation on August 21 will include results from a six-year partnership between The Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School and student researchers. The talk is titled “Authentication & Anti-counterfeiting for Lakota Arts and Crafts: A Cultural Heritage Science Approach.”