FireID, a leading provider of world-class security applications for mobile authentication, today announced that Frost & Sullivan, a leading global technology research firm, has awarded the company the 2009 African Mobile Two Factor Authentication Solutions New Product Innovation Award.
FireID delivers highly secure, mobile authentication via one-time passwords (OTPs), which provide benefits for both consumer and IT enterprise communities by eliminating the hassle and cost associated with hardware tokens as well as the security vulnerabilities and need for cellular connectivity required by SMS-based authentication.
“FireID has comprehensively satisfied the need for a robust two-factor authentication mechanism with its novel, lightweight mobile authentication application. There are two key aspects that make FireID an innovative offering. First, FireID's solution transforms the mobile phone, which users carry with them perpetually, into a self-contained security token that can generate secure OTPs on-demand. As a result, users need not worry about carrying a hardware token or remembering multiple passwords for authentication in online transactions. The second innovative aspect is the FireID universal personal authenticator's ability to generate OTPs even when there is no cellular network connectivity. The OTPs are generated offline by the mobile application for authentication into any FireID protected online resource, virtual private network (VPN), or extranet,” adds Sampath Achyuthanandan, Research Analyst, Technical Insights, Frost & Sullivan.
The award forms part of the Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Research. In terms of this research, Frost & Sullivan named FireID the winner, comparing it with competitors in the areas of innovation, leveraging of leading-edge technologies, value-added benefits and features, increased customer value, and customer acquisition/penetration potential.
FireID is gaining rapid traction in South Africa and globally, with several customers having gone live locally, and channels being set up worldwide.
Frost & Sullivan praised FireID for its potential increased customer value and Sullivan noted that:
FireID has value for VPN/remote access, online shopping sites, social networks, Web-based e-mail, online document repositories, Internet banking, consumer portals, firewalls, servers, network switches and routers, and practically any device, application or Web site that requires robust authentication; and
FireID is recognised for leveraging the Open Authentication (OATH) standard algorithm and its support of all popular mobile operating systems, including Symbian, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, and Java-compliant mobile devices.
“We are honoured to have received the New Product Innovation Award for Mobile Two Factor Authentication from Frost & Sullivan,” said Jenny Dugmore, CEO of FireID. “We knew the transformational aspects that affordable, technologically superior authentication would have for consumer and business markets, and we are pleased that our efforts are being recognised throughout the industry.”
Frost & Sullivan partners with clients to accelerate their growth. Formed five decades ago, it has 35 offices on six continents.
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