3-Way Mobile Security… What is Original1?

3-Way Mobile Security… What is Original1?

Today, SAP, Nokia and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) today have announced plans to form a new company, named "Original1," to deliver unique product authentication and anti-counterfeiting services across the globe. Though this venture has been grabbing some headlines, what does it really mean for mobile security?

According to the press release on the matter, “Original1's services will rely on SAP technology and solutions, while Nokia will deliver mobile authentication software to allow businesses to follow a branded product's entire life cycle, from a factory to the end customer, using mobile devices. G&D's contribution to Original1 will consist of security solutions for the entire value chain.” While the 3-way joint venture is pending regulatory approvals, the company expects to be operational before the end of the year. While this venture may/may not directly offer services to individual subscribers at the handset level, the intentions of this venture reflect the indirect opportunity to improve the user environment for wireless users.

At first glance this venture seems to be aimed primarily at introducing new solutions to improve brand protection services, but perhaps as the company moves forward we’ll all see subtle improvements in aspects of mobile commerce and mobile authentication. The battle for security in wireless has been going on for many years now and it’s finally beginning to get the respect it deserves. Considering that services such as mobile banking are increasingly being adopted, the reality is that mobile hacking tools are becoming more readily available too. Today there are multiple websites with dedicated mobile hacker software, which is a niche software market set for rapid expansion.

As the old quote attributed to Willie Sutton goes, “I rob banks because that's where the money is.” The reality is that money is digital and digital money is quickly making its way into the mobile environment. With an abundance of mobile hacker tools coming available, it already takes far less technology sophistication to hack into cell phones than it did just two years ago. Security is a veil for most people but remains a digital puzzle for those behind the hack. To see a company like Nokia involved in this 3-way joint venture speaks volumes to the opportunity for security-driven technologies to debut on future Nokia platforms.

Eric Everson – The MobileTech

Ref:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091027-704578.html