With today’s concern of terrorism, cargo theft, and tampering, security has become paramount when considering the storage and transportation of important or sensitive goods. Tamper Evident Seals are effective tools for deterring and detecting unauthorized access, theft, or tampering. The early detection of access by a 3rd party is critical to ensuring the point of breach within the implemented tracing system.
Despite their antiquity and widespread modern use, quite a few misconceptions, poor practices, and misleading terminology remain when it comes to seals and seal use. First off, it is important to be clear on what a seal is and what it is not. Unlike a lock, a seal is not intended to delay or harshly prevent unauthorized entry (except in the case of Barrier seals). Instead, a seal is meant to leave behind unambiguous, nonerasable evidence of unauthorized access. However, Barrier seals are devices that are part lock and part seal. Barrier seals have their uses, but the downside is that they can cause a lot of confusion for users and tend to be a compromise, being neither the optimal lock nor the optimal seal for a given application.
Barrier seals are sometimes misleadingly called “metal or heavy-duty security seals” in contrast to “tamper-evident seals,” but this is sloppy terminology. Other terms to avoid include “tamper-proof seal” and “tamper-resistant” seal. There is no such thing as a seal that cannot be spoofed, and the idea of “tamper resistance” applies more properly to locks, not seals.
