3G Americas Publishes Research Report on Trust and Security in Mobile Applications

BELLEVUE, WA, Oct 23 (MARKET WIRE) --
3G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the GSM
family of technologies including LTE, today announced that it has
published a research report titled "Security and Trust in Mobile
Applications." The paper, cooperatively developed by a working group of
the members of 3G Americas, uncovers the issues for consumers and
application providers about attempts to compromise services and
applications through such trust and security issues as identity theft,
phishing and pharming. The GSM family of technologies provides solutions
that place them at the forefront of the mobile application space providing
a decided advantage over the competition for services and applications
requiring security and trust as they become a reality in the near future.

"There is a segment of society that does not trust transactions solely
machine-based, particularly where mobile devices are concerned," noted
Yale Vinson, Manager, Technical Consulting Telecommunications, Gemalto
North America and leader of the 3G Americas work group. "The GSM family of
technologies has a clear advantage over other access technologies as far
as these and other security features are concerned."

The white paper discusses key applications and services that are on the
leading edge of those offered today and in the near future, such as near
field communications (NFC), mobile banking, eticketing, mobile broadcast
services and mobile payment as well as key security features in place
today that give the GSM technology family a decided advantage over other
mobile wireless technologies. It provides examples of secure applications
that are available today and in the near future, and the primary
differentiators for GSM technologies as compared to other networks.

"Not surprisingly, the applications that have the greatest revenue
potential are also those that are obvious targets for hackers to steal
information and use it maliciously," stated Chris Pearson, President of 3G
Americas. "The resulting goal is simple: the system that provides the
greatest security and trust will be seen as superior to other
implementations. That is why today most GSM and HSPA operators have these
proven security features in place through authentication mechanisms."

At the heart of the authentication mechanisms employed by the GSM family
is the Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) which is a portable token
that is recognized in both the mobile and banking industries as the most
secure, tamper resistant device for the storage and use of credentials
and secret data. The UICC is engineered to include a number of physical
and logical countermeasures that make compromising its secrets virtually
impossible. To ensure that only the correct user can access the secrets
stored in the UICC, the information is protected using a PIN or password
which enables two-factor authentication.

Another key advantage enjoyed by GSM family of technologies is the
mechanism used to manage the sensitive information stored within the UICC.
When the cards are initially produced, the data personalized onto the UICC
is loaded in a secure facility that is approved by stringent certification
boards appointed by the mobile and banking industries. Later, once in the
field, secure data and applications can be remotely managed via the Global
Platform which is usually already installed in a GSM operator's network,
unlike other access technologies that would require time and cost to
install for the operator community.

"When the Secure Element is collocated with the user's mobile network
access identity on the same physical device, it ensures that the Mobile
Operator is part of the identity value chain and validates that the
subscriber using the application is the owner," Vinson commented.

The white paper, "Security and Trust in Mobile Applications," is
available for free download on the 3G Americas website at
www.3gamericas.org.

About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology

3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of
telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's
mission is to promote and facilitate the seamless deployment throughout
the Americas of the GSM family of technologies, including LTE. 3G
Americas has contributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM
across the Americas and its place as the number one technology in the
region, as well as the global adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to
develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and
applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is
headquartered in Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the
Caribbean in Dallas, Texas. More information is available at
www.3gamericas.org.

Contact:
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