AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Detail Next Generation Mobile Authentication Platform

The Mobile Authentication Taskforce, made up of AT&T, Spring, T-Mobile and Verizon, revealed some details about their next-generation mobile authentication platform at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The platform will provide better security than two-factor authentication.

Formed last year to develop a mobile authentication solution to help protect enterprises and consumers from identity theft, bank fraud, fraudulent purchases and data theft, the Mobile Authentication Taskforce has dedicated resources developing a highly secure and trusted multi-factor authentication platform powered by the carrier networks. The taskforce vision includes interoperability with GSMA's Mobile Connect technology.

“As mobile becomes the remote control for day-to-day life, mobile identity is key to making things simpler and more secure for consumers,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. “The GSMA has been working with operators around the world to bring a consistent and interoperable, secure identity service and this taskforce will strengthen that effort by enabling a simple user experience quickly and conveniently in the US market.”


Their solution will deliver a cryptographically verified phone number and profile data for users of authorized applications with their consent. Authentication security is strengthened by processing unique attributes such as a network verified mobile number, IP address, SIM card attributes, phone number tenure, phone account type and more. In addition, advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities will be used to help assess risk and protect customers.

Registered developers will be able to submit applications through a system using private and permissioned blockchain technology to help ensure application integrity. Internal trials will begin over the next few weeks and the solution should become available to consumers by end-of-year. A website will be launching later this year to provide more details.

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