The release of VIP Access for Android on June 16th is a landmark event, as it is makes use of market leading technology to create a highly secure application. We are certain this is just the beginning of a trend to provide greater security for mobile devices.
We have seen in the distant past extensive use of hardware tokens because of the high degree of security they provide, but you sacrifice the user experience. With the proliferation of mobile devices users have demanded a more user friendly option – mobile credentials. Mobile credentials have been embraced by all industries, although certain industries are more security conscious than others: financial, government, and many large enterprises. Mobile credentials provide a high degree of convenience, but for these sensitive applications a higher level of security is welcome; particularly for Android devices. Through the work of Trustonic and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), VIP is able to utilize a hardware protected area on Android devices to install the computation code for the mobile credential; ensuring that even if the device is lost or stolen the credential will remain secure.
This release is available automatically to all VIP customers at no charge, and no configuration is required. Simply run the latest version of the free mobile app and you’ll have better security than you had yesterday.
All applications should secure access using two-factor authentication, vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed have made that painfully apparent. Through the use of two factors, even if a user’s password is compromised, their identity and by extension their online data is still protected. Users want security and convenience; with this release users now have the convenience of a mobile credential and the security of a hardware token.
Read more about the new standard of trust and security for connected devices and how Symantec and G&D partnered on protected security applications on smartphones and tablets
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