Consult Hyperion and Visa Europe pilot project for Secure Authentication for Online Govt Services
Consult Hyperion and Visa Europe win Technology Strategy Board funding for joint research project for Secure Authentication of Online Government Services
Innovation rewarded as pilot scheme investigates security and cost benefits of people using new bank-issued electronic Visa debit cards for access to online government services
Economic benefits – removes the need for government to issue separate authentication credentials
Security – by utilising the secure functionality of the Visa CodeSure product, consumers can be provided a secure intuitive solution that doesn’t require lots of passwords
Consumer benefits include ease of use and access – standard Visa Debit card using PIN-based authentication
Provides the consumers with a solution that can be used for a variety of online and phone-based services
Consult Hyperion, the IT consultancy that specialises in the field of secure electronic transactions, today announced that it has won a competition run by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board to run a pilot programme that will investigate the benefits of using the newly launched Visa CodeSure debit cards to securely access government services online.
The Technology Strategy Board is a UK innovation agency that invests in projects involving business and researchers working together to deliver successful new technology-based products and services. It has given its support to the ‘Sure Identity’ project proposed by Consult Hyperion, with the backing of Visa Europe, Europe’s leading payment scheme and its latest card technology. Completing the three-way consortium, Codes & Ciphers, who offer consultancy advice in all aspects of information security, will carry out further tests to research the security and privacy issues around the ‘Sure Identity’ project.
The easy to use cards are expected to help consumers overcome any security concerns as ‘Sure Identity’ uses PIN technology already associated with their Visa debit cards today.
Andrew Tyrer at the Technology Strategy Board says:
“The Technology Strategy Board investment into “Trusted Services” targets the increasing risks associated with online transactions whilst providing significant market opportunities to build a strong UK capability base. The tools, techniques and services developed will accelerate the deployment of secure and trustworthy information systems, within the UK and the wider global economy. This project in an excellent example of a business-led collaboration which will hopefully develop trusted services delivering significant improvements over today’s service offerings. “
The project will test the assumption that UK citizenswill be able to securely and safely access government online services using a Visa debit card with inbuilt secure authentication that can replace the use of password and login details. It will help improve government efficiency by reducing the processes involved with managing and supporting such password credentials for government services. The card will allow the government to enable consumers to enrol and access a wider range of services through the secure activation of bank-issued Visa debit cards. A major advantage of the proposed Sure Identity card is that the government would not have to carry out KYC (Know Your Customer) checks for the access to specific government services as the bank–issued Visa debit card would already have been provided to an identified consumer. This will save the government significant time and money and will allow a larger amount of people to access government online services quickly and efficiently. Enrolment to services, such as transactions on the website of the UK government - Directgov, will become more straightforward for users as they will be using a device they already have in their wallet.
David Birch, a Director of Consult Hyperion, says that the project represents a new direction:
“This is a fascinating project to be involved in. With the government’s clear goal of using private sector identification and authentication services to make it cost-effective, simple and practical for consumers to access government services online, it is important to assess a range of new technologies. There would be an obvious advantage in using a technology that is designed for the mass market, and this is what the proof-of-concept will explore.”
Secure proven technology
Consult Hyperion chose to use Visa’s CodeSure card for this ‘proof of concept’ project following a number of successful consumer pilots and rigorous testing with European banks. The card features an alpha-numeric display, a 12-button keypad and battery embedded in the card. When a cardholder enters their PIN into the keypad it displays a one-time password that is used for a one-off transaction and cannot be re-used. This service will help in the prevention of online fraud and provide a convenient authentication solution for consumers. There are a number of built-in security features of the system that enables such a service to work:
- The card contains secure separate credentials that are ring-fenced by the bank for banking services and for the government for accessing their services. Data or personal information is never shared or communicated to either party
- Using the unique mutual authentication technology it gives a consumer the assurance they are dealing with the genuine entity online.
- Allows the use of separate PINs for the different services that can be user-defined
When accessing private and public sector services, the card provider secures the “two factor” authentication only: no financial services information is shared with the government or any other third-party that uses the authentication service. This allows the government to leverage the infrastructure and investment made by the financial services sector while addressing the legitimate privacy concerns that might arise in respect of a public-private sector co-operation of this nature.
Sandra Alzetta, SVP Head of Innovation at Visa Europe said:
“Our focus is very much on finding secure and also convenient ways for consumers to authenticate themselves online. This project offers the opportunity for Visa to effectively evaluate whether there is a place for bank-issued technology like Visa CodeSure to be used for accessing services such as transactions on the website of the UK government - Directgov. This new Visa card has been specifically designed to allow consumers to authenticate themselves in many different channels in a consistent, easy and highly secure manner.”
The future
In addition to Visa Debit Cards, this technology could also be used in the future with Photo ID Driving licenses, National Health Cards, Benefit Payment Cards and even some types of prepaid card which would benefit those consumers who currently cannot access financial or government services today.
