Pleasant Hill, CA, July 26, 2006
Algorithmic Research (ARX), a leading worldwide provider of electronic signatures and data security solutions, has provided an EMV CAP authentication solution, based on PrivateServer HSM, to validate transactions for SIBS (Sociedade Interbanc?ria de Servi?os), Portugal's Multibanco network administration organization.
EMV CAP enables eBusiness solutions to take advantage of the highest security levels; based on guidelines laid out by EMV, the global smart card standard chip protocol formed by Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and Mastercards’ Chip Authentication Program (CAP). "The adoption of EMV CAP, supported by ARX’s PrivateServer HSM, allows eBusinesses to offer a two-factor strong authentication mechanism that would greatly enhance their security," says Rui Meneses, EMV-CAP Project Manager, SIBS.
A typical scenario would see strong user authentication offered to home-banking Web sites. Thanks to PrivateServer HSM, ARX’s high-performance and highly secure (FIPS-140 level 3 validated) solution, SIBS can enhance the entire transaction process.
Used together with a reader, an EMV CAP-based card provides a mechanism for a One Time Password (OTP) to authenticate both the user and the transaction. This will enable secure home banking services that until recently have been particularly vulnerable to attacks by fraudsters using fake websites, stolen passwords, phishing and other schemes to obtain account information.
"With the generation of OTP, the secure authentication systems make it impossible to carry out transactions in connection with rogue bank accounts," says Meneses. "This threat has increased recently with growing numbers of hackers trying to obtain sensitive data."
A further benefit to users is that the chip-cards are safer to use than the magnetic strip cards, which may be easily copied.
"PrivateServer gives SIBS the ability to provide a complete, high-performance, highly secure, EMV CAP system that meets EMV CAP standards," says Dr. Gadi Aharoni, CEO, ARX.
"PrivateServer can support, depending on the environment, more than 4,000 typical card transactions per second, which is an important feature for SIBS and the banks it represents because of the expected high volume card usage," he adds.
ARX's PrivateServer HSM is already in use in financial applications worldwide, including Setefi of the Intesa Banking Group, Polcard, Cetrel, G&D Spain and Getronics, among others.
