Major US wireless carriers are working together on a mobile authentication system that has the potential of coming a new open standard. Grouped under Mobile Authentication Taskforce, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint say that they have a solution which could be released before the end of the year.
This solution is next-generation, multi-factor mobile authentication, which intends to provide better security Thant he two-factor authentication we’ve been used to so far (and has its own set of flaws). The platform will be powered by the carriers’ networks, will work by delivering a cryptographically verified phone number and profile data to authorized applications upon user’s consent. After that, it will take into account a while range of other authenticating factors, such as network verified number, IP address, SIM card attributed and phone account type. All of this will help ensure that purchases and data usage is legitimate.
In addition, advanced analytics and machine learning is also expected to be introduced on the platform. This will allow assessment rod risk while understand users’ unique habits. The group is expected to start testing the platform in the coming weeks, and says it plans to launch a website later this year for interested service providers.
