Gemalto acquires mobile authentication leader Valimo Wireless

By Sarah Clark | NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com | 3 February 2010, 14:29

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Gemalto has acquired Valimo Wireless, the world leader in mobile authentication.

Valimo pioneered the use of two-channel, two-factor authentication based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Its Mobile ID solution combines an over the air platform with a software client in the SIM to generate a legally binding electronic signature that can be used by mobile phone users to securely authenticate themselves, digitally sign documents and confirm legally binding transactions simply by entering a self-chosen passphrase or a PIN code.

Valimo Mobile ID applications include secure online banking, mobile payments, government services, electronic and mobile commerce, and identity and access rights management for enterprise applications.

In Turkey, for example, the technology is being used by a major mobile operator to deploy the largest mobile digital signature commercial roll-out to date. By linking up with 13 banks, the operator enables its customers to strongly authenticate themselves for online banking and to digitally sign bank transactions from their mobile phone. Connecting the Valimo platform to forward-looking governmental agencies in the country, the operator has also started to provide users with access to e-government services, such as obtaining a birth certificate or booking an appointment at the hospital.

"Mobile digital signature has been on the horizon for a few years and we believe that we have now reached a tipping point," says Olivier Piou, chief executive officer of Gemalto. "Whether it is a high end smart phone or a more basic phone, the one digital object consumers always have with them is their mobile phone, and they clearly express their desire to use it more and more for convenience in their daily life. Enabling people to conveniently sign legally valid transactions is opening up a whole range of new applications for the mobile, at the service of citizens".