Intruder Alert!

Steve Tomas, application development manager, FLEXcon, said holograms can offer other functionality, in addition to what Kelem has mentioned.

A money-saving manifestation of holograms, and also a security measure, is the capability for "several different methods for trained inspectors to visually authenticate products without the need for special devices or readers," said Tomas. "However, the same hologram that contains overt security features can also contain covert features that make use of specialized reader hardware. In some cases, [holograms] are used only as a red herring for would-be counterfeiters, while the real covert security device is somewhere else on the product."