AT&T Launches Encrypted Mobile Voice Service For Enterprise
Worried about someone tapping into your mobile phone calls? AT&T may
be working towards solving that for average consumers. The company has
just revealed a new Encrypted Mobile Voice service, but it's only for
enterprise customers right now. AT&T is saying that it's aimed at government
agencies, law enforcement organizations, financial
services institutions and international businesses, but after that, we
wouldn't be surprised if this kind of service came to normal businesses
and consumers as well.
The new service provides high-level security features for calls on the AT&T wireless network. Specifically, it combines KoolSpan’s TrustChip and SRA International’s One Vault Voice into the first carrier-provided two-factor encryption solution. TrustChip is a fully hardened, self-contained crypto engine inserted into the smartphone’s microSD slot. Embedded with AT&T TrustGroup, the KoolSpan TrustChip offers the strength of additional hardware authentication, enables encrypted calling interoperability with a defined group of other AT&T TrustGroup users and can be managed over-the-air.
The combination allows users to easily place and receive encrypted calls by integrating with the mobile phone’s standard operation and address book to provide a user friendly and seamless security option, and right now it supports BlackBerry, Windows Phone and... no other platforms yet. The iPhone and Android aren't supported, but they may be in the future. We guess it depends on the uptake.
The new service provides high-level security features for calls on the AT&T wireless network. Specifically, it combines KoolSpan’s TrustChip and SRA International’s One Vault Voice into the first carrier-provided two-factor encryption solution. TrustChip is a fully hardened, self-contained crypto engine inserted into the smartphone’s microSD slot. Embedded with AT&T TrustGroup, the KoolSpan TrustChip offers the strength of additional hardware authentication, enables encrypted calling interoperability with a defined group of other AT&T TrustGroup users and can be managed over-the-air.
The combination allows users to easily place and receive encrypted calls by integrating with the mobile phone’s standard operation and address book to provide a user friendly and seamless security option, and right now it supports BlackBerry, Windows Phone and... no other platforms yet. The iPhone and Android aren't supported, but they may be in the future. We guess it depends on the uptake.
AT&T to Offer First Carrier-Provided, Two Factor Encryption Service for Smartphones
AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice Service uses Powerful Combination of Hardware and Software to Enable Voice Calls with High-Level Security
Dallas, Texas, October 06, 2010
AT&T* today launched AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice, the first carrier-provided two factor encryption service, which provides high-level security features for calls on the AT&T wireless network. The service is targeted at government agencies, law enforcement organizations, financial services institutions and international businesses.
According to ABI Research, as smartphone distribution among the mobile business customer base increases, mobile phone security features will become more prominent, particularly among mid- and large-size company employees. Smartphone penetration among mobile business customers in the United States is expected to increase from about 28% to about 45% by 2014 ¹. And in a survey conducted by AT&T in June, three out of four executives are concerned about how the use of mobile networks/devices could potentially impact security.²
AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice combines KoolSpan’s TrustChip® and SRA International’s One Vault Voice™ into the first carrier-provided two-factor encryption solution. TrustChip is a fully hardened, self-contained crypto engine inserted into the smartphone’s microSD slot. Embedded with AT&T TrustGroup, the KoolSpan TrustChip offers the strength of additional hardware authentication, enables encrypted calling interoperability with a defined group of other AT&T TrustGroup users and can be managed over-the-air.
SRA’s One Vault Voice integrates the security functions of the TrustChip with a feature rich application that provides an intuitive user interface. This powerful combination allows users to easily place and receive encrypted calls by integrating with the mobile phone’s standard operation and address book to provide a user friendly and seamless security option. This on-demand security function delivers mutual authentication and end-to-end encryption to enable a high-level security call mode.
“With the adoption of smartphone use in government and businesses, it’s clear that the security ecosystem requires an approach that incorporates both wired and wireless,” said Ed Amoroso, Chief Security Officer, AT&T. “We’re continuously working to stay ahead of evolving technologies and threats, and have a specialized team within AT&T Labs that is dedicated to investigating security challenges in the wireless space. AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice is the product of such innovation.”
“Year over year, the cost of compromised data and operational security threats has increased dramatically,” said Pat Burke, SRA Senior Vice President of Offerings and Products. “These threats have elevated cyber security as a strategic priority for both business and government organizations worldwide.”
“This solution was designed to address these very requirements," said Tony Fascenda, KoolSpan Chief Executive Officer. “We help resolve the privacy and national security concerns of our customers by using standard smartphones on public networks to create secure calls globally.”
AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice supports BlackBerry® smartphones and Windows® Phones on the AT&T wireless network. Unlike other encrypted voice systems, AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice is not limited by availability of legacy Circuit Switched Data coverage and can operate in the over 190 countries globally where AT&T provides data roaming.
AT&T Encrypted Mobile Voice meets the government information classification standards for Controlled Unclassified Information, offering The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) FIPS – 140-2 validation.
Today, AT&T delivers some of the most powerful weapons to combat cybersecurity attacks. AT&T’s network security solutions rely on three key ingredients: a scalable, reliable global IP network; security experts with in-depth, hands-on experience; and the innovation and research of AT&T Labs. AT&T delivers a suite of security and business continuity services to help assess vulnerabilities, protect infrastructure, detect attacks and respond to suspicious activities and events. More information on AT&T’s managed security offerings can be found at AT&T Security & Business Continuity.
