14 DAY TRIAL // Symantec and German mobile security firm Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of protected security applications for smartphones and tablets.
The companies will focus on developing solutions that leverage the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). By using TEE, they can develop highly secure applications whose components are transmitted, stored and executed in a hardware protected area.
G&D already uses TEE for its Trusted Service Manager (TSM) to protect credentials and cryptographic keys. As part of the partnership, Symantec will update its mobile solutions to also include the TSM.
One of Symantec’s first products to benefit from TEE will be Symantec Validation and ID Protection Service (VIP), a two-factor authentication app expected to be released in the second half of 2013.
“This collaboration enables Symantec’s products and services to deliver critical security solutions leveraging highly secure hardware components in mobile devices,” explained Stephen Trilling, Symantec senior vice president and chief technology officer.
“We’re pleased that Symantec’s VIP Service will be the first to utilize this secure store to deliver additional value to our customers who use our service to give their mobile users secure access to sensitive applications and data.”
Wolfgang Decker, group vice president at G&D, added, “At the same time, the simple activation process makes it easy and cost effective for companies to integrate mobile protection into their IT infrastructures to meet their needs. Our collaboration shows that flexibility and security are not necessarily mutually exclusive.”
The results of the collaboration will be presented by Symantec and G&D at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.