Clickatell showcases mobile authentication

The global mobile messaging provider Clickatell, which started life in Cape Town, made a splash at last week’s RSA Data Security Conference in San Francisco. Its two-factor authentication for mobile devices is now built into the systems provided by encryption pioneer RSA.

When Clickatell, global provider of mobile messaging systems, demonstrated its mobile authentication solutions at last week¬πs RSA Data Security Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, it wasn’t just another exhibitor.

It was an honoured participant in RSA’s own launch of its new Authentication Manager, which incorporates Clickatell solutions, and the latter was an exhibitor at RSA’s own booth at the event.

RSA, an acronym which has nothing to do with the Republic of South Africa (it is from the surnames of the founders, Rivest, Shamir and Adleman), is the security division of EMC, and a premier provider of security solutions for business. It invented public key encryption, which today is at the heart of security solutions worldwide.

At the RSA booth, Clickatell demonstrated two-factor authentication to mobile devices, showing how enterprise users can receive an RSA-generated one-time password (OTP) via text message directly to cell phones.

The RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 announced last week includes the ability to send an On-demand Authenticator utilising the Clickatell global messaging network. This makes it possible for organisations to be more confident in deploying new business models that extend enterprise applications and data to customers, partners and employees.

Two-factor authentication combines ‚something you know’ with ‚something you have’, providing a more reliable and secure level of user authentication than reusable passwords.

Employees who don¹t typically carry an RSA SecurID authenticator can see how they can receive an RSA generated OTP via text message directly to their cell phone, ­ which allows for immediate and secure access to the corporate network.

‚Clickatell was selected by RSA to show how mobile authentication services will benefit a broad range of enterprise customers,‚ said Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell.

Pieter de Villiers

‚We are pleased to be chosen by RSA, the leader in enterprise authentication, to help customers take full advantage of the ubiquity, intimacy and immediacy that cell phones have to offer when choosing a global security solution.‚

Providing timely and direct messages in seconds, SMS (Short Message Service)

is the ideal form of communication to help enterprises and government agencies provide OTPs to their employees. And, given the ubiquity of the cell phone as a device we carry at all times, the mobile device is a reliable and convenient method of reaching the intended party.

Once the OTP has been delivered, the password will have a short life of only a few minutes to access the network. If it isn¬πt used within the given timeframe, the password will become obsolete and unusable.

About Clickatell

Founded in 2000, Clickatell is a global leader in mobile communications products and services to small, medium and large enterprises in a variety of markets. Clickatell reaches more than 700 networks in more than 200 countries, and serves 8 000 customers, including Barclays Bank, BBC, Continental Airlines, CNN, First National Bank, Metropolitan Life, Oracle, Shell, and other industry leaders.

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