SCMs Mobile e20 Reader is Certified for the MasterCard OneSMART Authentication Program

The approval makes it possible for financial institutions and other card issuers to use SCMs mobile reader with the popular MasterCard authentication program. The OneSMART MasterCard Chip Authentication Program is a smart card-based authentication program that is a part of the MasterCard SecureCode solution. It can be used to increase security for Internet banking and other applications requiring strong cardholder authentication. SCM is demonstrating the online security capabilities of its e20 mobile reader at CeBIT in hall 17, booth A01(47) from March 10th to March 16th 2005. The same approach can be used to secure mail order and telephone order (MOTO) payments and online banking transactions. The card reader also allows cardholders to view a log of their last ten transactions. The solution is aimed primarily at security-conscious, technology-aware consumers - an important and growing segment. How the e20 Works Functionally, the e20 is a battery-operated smart card reading device with a display and keypad for entering PIN codes and other numeric data. After a cardholder enters his or her PIN, the device generates a one-time valid password or Transaction Authentication Number that the cardholder uses for the authentication of online transactions such as ecommerce or ebanking. One option for achieving an even higher level of security is the challenge response capability. This feature allows an application to create a random challenge specific to that transaction. The user enters the challenge into the e20 reader; the card then generates a response that the user presents to the application. Introducing a random challenge into an authentication process is a very strong security technique. The e20 reader does not need to be connected to a PC, is easy for consumers to use and it is totally platform independent. The e20 mobile reader is only slightly larger than a credit card, with a sleek, highly stylized design. In creating a security device for the virtual world, SCMs engineers took their inspiration from the dial on a real world safe. The team settled on an oval shape and placed the keys around the perimeter. Its small size and light weight make it both easy to hold and highly portable. It is an elegantly simple design, yet it significantly increases online transaction security for consumers, issuers and merchants. Strong chip authentication is called two-factor, because it combines something I own (the chip card and the e20 reader) and something I know (the PIN). Though simple for the consumer, it is highly secure and it works across a variety of channels. Another important benefit to issuers is that it provides irrefutable proof of cardholder verification for the transaction, a critical requirement for card issuers faced with mounting online transaction disputes among their accountholders.