Patent attributes
A system for protecting high-value cargo enclosed in a container, while maintaining the container indistinguishable from similar low value shipments, includes an onboard identity module (OBIM) cooperative with an internal locking mechanism (ILM), both of which are externally undetectable. The OBIM can secure the ILM and prevent the container from being opened until a properly encoded unlocking signal from a Security Management System (SMS) is wirelessly received by the OBIM. The unlocking signal can be a composite including a plurality of species of wireless signals such as different frequencies of AM and FM encoded RF and acoustic signals, transmitted simultaneously and/or at specified intervals. In embodiments the OBIM enables remote tracking of the container, and in some embodiments the tracking is double-blind, whereby a Master Number (MN) recorded in shipping documents is associated with a “Random Number” (RN) used for tracking, the association being known only to the SMS.