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What are security seals?

Security seals, tamper evident seals, padlock seals, burglar-proof seals, barrier seals, twist seals, numbered seals, biodegradable plastic seals

Security seals are mechanisms used to seal items in a way that provides tamper evidence and some level of security accordingly to device design. Such security seals can help to detect theft or contamination, either accidental or deliberate usually named tamper evident proof.

Today, seals are widely used to help counter theft, smuggling, sabotage, vandalism, terrorism, and espionage.

Security seals are commonly used to secure truck trailers, marine vessel containers, chemical drums, airline duty-free trolleys, tanks with different kind of fluids, fashion items sold online, utility meters, doors, bags, boxes control access, cash and valuables in transit, and practically all your applications that need to be checked for tampering with.

Therefore, when it is necessary to adopt security measures that can guarantee that nobody interferes with the product, opens it or manipulates it or provides tamper evidence of intrusion into sensitive spaces using security seals is the safest, easiest, and cheapest solution.

Security seals are not designed to solve all security problems.

The effectiveness of tamper evident seals is strongly dependent on the proper protocols for using them. These protocols are the official and unofficial procedures used for seal procurement, storage, record keeping, installation, inspection, removal, disposal, reporting, interpreting findings, and training. With a good protocol a modest seal can provide excellent security. On the other hand a sophisticated seal used poorly may be worse than useless if naively trusted.

According to the design, production materials, and the security sealing need, activity domain related, the security seals can be disposable, multiuse type, with mechanical counter, with GPS and web software control.

High Security Seals ISO 17712

A High Security Seal is constructed and manufactured of material such as metal or metal cable with the intent to delay intrusion and have been designed to conform with world customs and ISO security seal standards. The International Standards Organization (ISO) published the new version of ISO 17712 on 15 May 2013. The major changes in the new edition concern Clause 6, Evidence of Tampering. Changes were required due to the demonstrated impracticality of tamper related tests in ISO 17712:2010 edition.

Metal seals

There are several basic designs of the metallic seals: bolt seals, ball seals, and cable seals.

Bolt seals are used to secure shipping containers, trucks, and trailers. A bolt seal used for securing containers must conform to the ISO 17712 high security seal in order to be accepted by customs all around the world in ocean shipping. The C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) specifies ISO 17712 compliant security seals to be used.

Bolt seals are generally closed by hand (by pushing the seal body and head together) and opened with the use of bolt cutters. This gives a strong and secure seal for transportation while remaining convenient for staff in ports and warehouses.

Cable seals

Cable seals allow for more versatile application because they have variable length of the locking mechanism limited only by the metallic cable length. Typical applications are security sealing trucks and railway cars transporting valuable commodities.

An internal metallic locking mechanism prevents the cable from being retracted. In this regard most cable seals are classified as security or high security level as to ISO 17712.

All ISO 17712 compliant devices are numbered on both seal body and head to prevent substitution of either part. This is usually done using laser marking which cannot be rubbed off because of your own design controlled laser “burned” seal made material.

Ball seals are commonly used for securing trucks along the route by seeing if it was tampering with. They consist of a metal strip with a punched hole, attached to a housing section. When the strip is bent and threaded through the hole, a ball inside the housing section locks it in place. Most ball type seals belong only to the indicative level as to ISO 17712.

Plastic seals

Plastic security seals are manufactured normally in two styles: with adjustable length and with fixed length.

Variable length plastic seals, named also pull tight plastic seals, can fit many applications from securing the neck of a bag or mail sack to sealing chemical drums, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, doors control acces, fuel cars tanks, water tanks, fashion items sold online, and cargo trucks.

If you have to control access on however your need is the tamper evident action on a security sealed item, variable length plastic seals will offer you the right and priceless solution.

Pull tight security seals have an adjustable length, much like a cable seal, but offer a much higher security level and an audit trail because of the sequential numbering and the ability on some seals to be barcoded and have a company name and logo printed or laser etched on.

Fixed-length seals tend to be more tamper resistant than variable length as there are no sliding parts, they simply ‘click‘ into place to lock, which can make them easier to fit than variable length seals. Most fixed length seals can also be branded and numbered for extra security.

A fixed length tamper evident seal is often the choice of single use solution of security for transport applications.

A new trend in the protection of the Earth environment is to make plastic seals from recyclable plastic and the use on the manufacturing process of completely biodegradable plastic raw materials.

Padlock seals

Padlock seals are usually supplied as a completely plastic seal and are shaped as a standard padlock. Technically they can be classified as a fixed length seal.

They feature the same types of tamper-evident protection as fixed length and have the possibility of numbering, barcoding, and branding, but they fit some different applications.

The most common use for these seals is for airline duty-free trolleys. One reason for this is that the plastic padlocks can be placed over a locking part as any metal classic padlock, but they do not require keys to open, they simply break off at their built in break point using hands or a small pair of wire cutters. They are secure due to the audit trail available as a result of the sequential numbering, barcodes and logo laser printed on.

Security seals for meters devices

Meter seals, often named twist seals because of their lock system design, are used with electric meters or gas meters or water meters and usually are molded in polycarbonate. The transparent body of the security seal means that the locking mechanism is visible and can provide clear indication of tampering with.

Meter seals can withstand exposure to sunlight and extreme weather and a wide range of temperatures.

Designed for only a single use they are destroyed when removed.

Some meter seals contain components which glow under ultraviolet light allowing the seal to be easily located in darkness.

Meter security seals are client personalized with company logo, serial number, and barcodes laser printed on them without the possibility that the print will be erased accidentally or by theft access purpose.

Multipurpose seals

Special security tapes and security labels have high bond-strength adhesives in combination with backing that are designed to fracture or delaminate under designated conditions to indicate premature attempts at opening. Custom printing, holograms, and security printing often assist in deterring and indicating tampering.

Cash in Transit security seals

Bank seals – Sealing elements and security products used in areas requiring a high degree of security. It is used mainly in banking, cash in transit (CIT), and courier delivery. You get a security sealing solution to provide an audit trail of seal scans controlling the steps along the route, securing ATM cassettes or evidence tampering with protection of the security bags, security envelopes, and security boxes.

Seals Expert offer a wide range of security solutions that are designed to meet the need of logistics security by providing physical tamper evidence and controlling the steps along the route and the inventory of the protected items.