This week Masabi, the UK-based secure mobile apps company, has announced that BT has validated the cryptographic algorithms used in EncryptME. This is the world’s first mobile Java security application and can provide Web commerce level security for the vast majority of existing mobile handsets.
The 3K code footprint allows fully secure transactions from any Java-enabled phone. The first to use the EncryptME app will be train ticketing technology specialists YourRail, and this will enable tickets to be purchased securely and then used from almost all mobile phones. Payment can be made by credit and debit cards, and the handset is all you need to then get aboard!
“The main reason internet commerce has not been extended into the mobile world has been that most handsets cannot support the security available on PCs which is necessary to safely authenticate users and perform transactions. EncryptME symbolises the turning of the tide,” said Ben Whitaker, Co-Founder and head of Security Development at Masabi. “For the first time EncryptME brings internet security to mobile phones thereby enabling the likes of Amazon, eBay and any other internet retailer to extend their offerings to users on the move”
What makes EncryptME very interesting is that it can work with both new as well as older phones to establish encrypted connections over a wireless network. It works with GPRS, 3G and SMS, as well as short-range wireless technology platforms including Wi-Fi and NFC. The software has been designed to meet public standards in order to ensure that all server-side cryptography can be handled by existing security systems, such as Sun or Microsoft.