Smart dust, in the context of this idea, is very tiny pieces of serialized matter that responds to radio waves with its serial number. Sprinkle a little on your computer and if someone steals it and it's later scanned the dust will respond to the scan. This stuff is almost impossible to remove since it's very, very small. fairly sticky, and it only takes one or two remaining particles to scan for a serial number.

I have found a way to defeat it.

Make smart dust with already-issued serial numbers, plus a few random ones. Millions of different serial numbers.

Now it's impossible to prove whether the result of a scan is actually from dust originally placed or just happens to be one of the millions of other particles.

Furthermore one can add to the plausible deniability by placing it on other people's belongings. Now not only can it not be confirmed that the dust belonged to the original owner but it can't be confirmed that the confounding dust was placed there deliberately.
-- Voice, Jan 09 2014

If the original smart dust is still on there, what's to stop them running the sample through a mass spec and having a computer run a quick matching search of however many corresponding serial numbers turn up against the original?

// Furthermore one can add to the plausible deniability by placing it on other people's belongings. //

That's already one of the major problems with smart dust; like any super fine particulate, it gets _everywhere_. I've heard andor read that this trait has gotten it dismissed in court as valid evidence, but that may be apocryphal.
-- Alterother, Jan 09 2014



random, halfbakery