ERICSSON BUYS AUTHENTICATION DEVICE

Ericsson bought an e-commerce encryption and access device from Postgirot Bank designed to allow GSM users to pay phone bills and access other accounts from their mobile phones, Ericsson officials said. The new technology, which includes a SIM card with digital authentication, underwent extensive pilot tests at Postgirot and will be integrated with Ericsson’s wireless e-commerce capability. The function can be adapted to any transaction, to any company from within the GSM network, company officials said. For several years, Postgirot’s customers have used a keycard to generate random access codes, together with a smart card, to secure their transactions with asymmetric encryption over modem connections to the bank. The principle difference with the new system is that the mobile phone becomes the only device they need.