The Science of Document Security

Austrian Federal Police officers and document trainers for Austrian and international police forces, we—Friedrich Frank and Franz Zeiner recently became private publishers of a specialist book entitled Deceptively Real – The Science of Document Security.

Through our decades of experience as document trainers both at home and abroad (with the Austrian Federal Police and ICMPD)—and through years of training within OSCE projects, we recognised a growing need for a comprehensive, targeted reference work. Such a work should facilitate the verification of presented documents while providing in-depth information on topics such as security papers, various printing techniques, the structure of security documents, biometrics in documents, and more.

Although much of this information can be found in online databases, we have repeatedly observed during our training courses that participants express a strong desire for a physical reference book after their sessions. A physical book allows them to retain the knowledge they have acquired and serves as an accessible reference in their day-to-day work.

About the Book

Over 1,000 photos and graphics across 416 pages illustrate real security features, production processes, and counterfeit characteristics—from classic paper techniques to electronic chips and cryptographic methods. It provides detailed explanations alongside practical examples.

The book features a modular structure consisting of 19 practice-oriented learning units. Each module deals with a specific aspect of document security: from paper types and printing processes to security features (such as holograms and OVDs), testing methods, and typical manipulation techniques.

The target audience ranges from government regulatory bodies to the private sector—anyone who must rely daily on the authenticity of the documents presented to them.

Our Mission

Our aim is not only to impart knowledge, but also to build confidence through understanding, attentiveness, and systematic verification. Document verification should never be based on a gut feeling. Those who bear responsibility must be able to distinguish between what is secure and what is not. This book is intended to ensure that trust is not blind, but well-founded.

Security features only fulfil their purpose if they can be recognised, understood, and methodically tested. Therefore, the key questions addressed in the book are:

• What security features are found in modern identity documents?
• How do these features work technologically and physically?
• What manipulation methods occur in practice?
• How can original features be reliably distinguished from counterfeits?

Ultimately, our goal is to combine theory and practice, so readers are empowered not only to recognise security features, but also to understand and evaluate them correctly in an examination context.

Further Information:

For more details about this reference book, the full table of contents, and a presentation video, please visit www.dokumentensicherheit.at