Adobe has come under fire for putting anti-counterfeiting code, which bars viewing of certain countries` currency, into its applications. The manufacturer of Photoshop has admitted that it acted at the behest of a group of national banks to foil counterfeiting.
Adobe South Africa regional manager Andrew Lindstrom says the office has not received any official communication about this development.
According to reports, Photoshop and other programs will no longer be able to open files containing images of several nations` currencies.
The code to identify such images was supplied by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG), an association representing the national banks from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
At the request of the CBCDG, Adobe and other software companies inserted the functionality into their programs.
Users of Adobe Photoshop CS and other programs like Jasc`s Paintshop Pro and Ulead Systems have complained that images of the new US $20 bill and several euro denominations cannot be opened.
The technology is shrouded in secrecy as its creator, Digimarc, will not comment. Adobe has been quoted as saying it did not consider it a meaningful subject for official communication, since many users would not encounter this in their day-to-day activities.
Pretoria, we have a problem
Counterfeiting is a worldwide problem. In recent cases in SA, small businesses in central Pretoria fell prey to criminals distributing counterfeit R20 bank notes, according to Pretoria News.
The modus operandi of the money launderers is to pay for a R5 item with a forged R20 note. They receive legitimate change and then move on to another business.
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