SchlumbergerSema delivers timely breakthrough in mobile security with in-card voice authentication for phone users

Citation

(2002), "SchlumbergerSema delivers timely breakthrough in mobile security with in-card voice authentication for phone users", Sensor Review, Vol. 22 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2002.08722cab.002

SchlumbergerSema delivers timely breakthrough in mobile security with in-card voice authentication for phone users

SchlumbergerSema delivers timely breakthrough in mobile security with in-card voice authentication for phone usersKeywords: Voice recognition, Biometrics

SchlumbergerSema, a business unit of Schlumberger Limited, and Domain Dynamics Limited, the UK voice and signal specialist, have announced a security breakthrough for mobile phones which safeguards access to handsets by means of voice authentication. Unlike previous attempts at introducing biometric technology for this application, the new system runs on a subscriber identity module (SIM) card and requires no additional hardware, making it cost effective and simple to introduce. The technology ensures that only legitimate users can access a phone – or its resources, such as phone books – by using a locking mechanism, which operates in the familiar fashion of a PIN code. Authentication simply requires the user to speak a phrase or word as the phone is switched on, which is compared in real-time with a reference voiceprint stored inside the tamper-proof SIM card's memory. This unique voice authentication system provides an ideal solution for the current problem of mobile handset and service theft. It also serves as a secure safeguard for industry advancements, as higher bandwidths start to allow mobile phones to be employed for m-commerce and confidential transactions. "Voice authentication is the most natural method of introducing state of the art security into the mobile phone marketplace," said Jorgen Rasmussen, president, Cards at SchlumbergerSema. "By basing the solution on the standardized SIM platform, it becomes cost effective and simple, providing a highly flexible mechanism for operators to address the widespread public concern over privacy and security." The new system has been developed through a partnership between SchlumbergerSema, which provides the SIM ToolKit applet, Domain Dynamics Ltd, which provides the voice authentication algorithm, and Mitsubishi Electric Telecom, which has implemented the technology on the Trium Mondo GSM/GPRS PDA phone. The system is provided as a SIM ToolKit applet, which may be loaded onto any standard Java Card SIM. Leveraging the unique nature of the signal processing algorithm designed by Domain Dynamics Ltd, and the lean nature of the man-machine interface program, the applet is extremely small – requiring just 2.5 Kbytes of memory in total. This tiny memory usage includes everything required for the deployment and use of voice authentication – from the enrolment process which lets a user enter his or her voiceprint by repeating a chosen word or phrase three times, through the generation of the reference biometric template which stores the key characteristics of the voice, to the sign-on and comparison procedure for daily use.

General enquiries to Martin George, Marketing Manager, Domain Dynamics Ltd, Thames Tower, Station Road, Reading RG1 1LX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)118 902 3777; Fax: +44 (0)118 902 3789; E-mail: martin.george@ddl.co.uk