New Consortium Established to Promote Secure Internet Services Using SIM Technology for Authentication5 April 2006
At the CTIA Wireless show, a group of leadingtechnology firms announced the formation of a new partnership that willpromote the use of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card technology toprovide simple, cost-effective, and user-friendly strong authentication forsecure Internet services and transactions. The new "SIM StrongAuthentication Task Force" is chartered with establishing standards,testing applications and attracting partners to further the acceptance ofthis innovative new security solution in the wider world of e-business.Participating organizations include Axalto (Euronext NL0000400653 AXL),Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), Telenor and Ulticom (NASDAQ: ULCM).
The concept is simple: by combining Bluetooth and SIM card technologies,consumers can use their mobile phones as a means of authenticatingthemselves for logging on to services such as online banking or theircorporate intranet. In addition, service providers can reuse their SIM cardinfrastructure to offer user authentication services to banks, brokeragehouses and other enterprises that require strong authentication to protectvaluable information and transaction data.
Once deployed, a user attempting to log on to a secure website will beredirected to their mobile operator's Identity Provider asking for SIMauthentication. When the user agrees, the Identity Provider willcommunicate with the user's mobile operator through the Home LocationRegister to perform the authentication of the user's SIM card. If theauthentication is successful, the user will be redirected back to thewebsite they were attempting to access, where he or she can carry out theirtransaction. What's more, for access to other participating Internet sites,the user will not have to authenticate again.
"Mobile operators spend years building their brand identity. The prospectof seeing that brand hurt by fraud, identity theft or other abuses of theInternet is something they cannot live with," said Peter Jarich, PrincipalAnalyst with Current Analysis. "Using the SIM card to provide userauthentication is clearly compelling, if only due to the simplicity of itsimplementation. Mobile and fixed-line service providers can add suchcapabilities using existing infrastructure. End users benefit from the easeof use of the application and by not having to maintain additional devicesor passwords. Moreover, as we move to applications which rely on insecure,unlicensed spectrum, the SIM card provides a proven way to add the securitythat operators and end users demand."
This technology is currently being deployed to allow network operators tooffer fixed-mobile convergence services by extending the coverage andcapacity of their networks using unlicensed local-area access networks,such as wireless LAN and Bluetooth. Subscribers using a dual modecellular/WLAN handset can make calls across any generic wireless LAN and IPnetwork, with the call and signaling data encapsulated in secure IPtunnels. Advanced authentication services are provided by leveraging themobile operators' SS7 networks to enable end-to-end, secure, SIM-basedwireless LAN access. This technique is also applicable to securingcommunications on next generation wireless broadband networks.
A proof-of-concept implementation of a sample SIM Strong Authenticationapplication will be demonstrated in the Axalto booth (Booth 1844) at theCTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas this week. For more information about theapplication, or for details on the SIM Strong Authentication Task Force,visit www.simstrong.org.
About SIM Strong Authentication Task Force
Founded to promote the use of SIM card technology for user authentication,SIM-Strong is dedicated to providing a viable, easy to use and implementalternative for secure access to Internet services. Member organizationsinclude Axalto, Lucent Technologies, Telenor and Ulticom. For moreinformation, visit www.simstrong.org.
NOTE: This release may contain "forward-looking statements" under thePrivate Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks anduncertainties. There can be no assurances that forward-looking statementswill be achieved, and actual results could differ materially from forecastsand estimates. Important factors that could cause actual results to differmaterially include: the results of the review by the Audit Committee of theBoard of Directors of matters relating to the company's stock optiongrants, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of the stated dates ofoption grants and whether all proper corporate procedures were followed;risks associated with the development and acceptance of new products andproduct features; risks associated with the company's dependence on alimited number of customers for a significant percentage of the company'srevenues; changes in the demand for the company's products; changes incapital spending among the company's current and prospective customers;aggressive competition may force the company to reduce prices; risksassociated with rapid technological changes in the telecommunicationsindustry; risks associated with making significant investments in theexpansion of the business and with increased expenditures; risks associatedwith holding a large proportion of the company's assets in cash equivalentsand short-term investments; risks associated with the company's productsbeing dependent upon their ability to operate on new hardware and operatingsystems of other companies; risks associated with dependence on sales ofthe company's Signalware products; risks associated with future networksnot utilizing signaling systems and protocols that the company's productsare designed to support; risks associated with the products having longsales cycles and the limited ability to forecast the timing and amount ofproduct sales; risks associated with the integration of the company'sproducts with those of equipment manufacturers and application developersand the company's ability to establish and maintain channel and marketingrelationships with leading equipment manufacturers and applicationdevelopers; risks associated with the company's reliance on a limitednumber of independent manufacturers to manufacture boards for the company'sproducts and on a limited number of suppliers for board components; risksassociated with becoming subjected to, defending and resolving allegationsor claims of infringement of intellectual property rights; risks associatedwith others infringing on the company's intellectual property rights andthe inappropriate use by others of the company's proprietary technology;risks associated with the company's ability to retain existing personneland recruit and retain qualified personnel; risks associated with theincreased difficulty in relying on equity incentive programs to attract andretain talented employees and with any associated increased employmentcosts; risks associated with rapidly changing technology and the ability ofthe company to introduce new products on a timely and cost-effective basis;risks associated with changes in the competitive or regulatory environmentin which the company operates; and other risks described in filings withthe Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties, aswell as others, are discussed in greater detail in the filings of Ulticomwith the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recentAnnual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.All documents are available through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov orfrom Ulticom's web site at www.ulticom.com. Ulticom makes no commitment torevise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect eventsor circumstances after the date any such statement is made.
Contacts:Investors:Ulticom, Inc.Chris Tunnard(856) 787-2972Email Contact
Media:Ulticom, Inc.Debby Stefaniak(856) 787-2718Email Contact
SOURCE: Ulticom, Inc.
Source: marketwire
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