US :Swivel Technologies Ltd., a leading developer of secure authentication technology, today introduced Swivel M2F(TM), a new authentication system that uses a mobile phone or PDAs to confirm user identity. M2F extends Swivel's existing product line, which includes the Swivel SAA 200(TM) network appliance and SAS PINsafe(TM), to provide a range of authentication options to address today's toughest security challenges.

For security solution providers that need to offer customers quick, convenient and sure user authentication, regardless of location, Swivel's new M2F (mobile, two factor) provides an unrivaled level of security and functionality for the mobile environment. In the government, financial and healthcare sectors, user identification and authentication are critical issues that require new thinking. Passwords, tokens, and other widely used methods to provide these services are easily hacked and often difficult to manage.
Swivel's patented technology utilizes one-time-codes to provide a secure, simple, cost-effective approach to meet the challenge of ever-increasing security issues.

"We've listened to the reseller and VAR communities, and their message is loud and clear - their customers' security needs demand strong authentication," said Andy Cole, Vice President, Sales and Business Development at Swivel. "Until now, security has meant either weak, password-only systems or high-priced and inconvenient hardware-based solutions. Swivel bucks this trend by delivering a simple, efficient, yet strong authentication solution that leverages a user's existing mobile device."

Developed in Europe, where mobile platforms are more mature, Swivel M2F operates on both second and third generation mobile networks as well as on the latest Java based cell phones. This means that US companies that specialize in providing integrated security solutions for their customers will be able bring Swivel's strong authentication to market using today's technology and will have an easy upgrade path as 3G becomes widely available throughout the country.

Writing in a recent report, Dennis Behrman, a research analyst with Financial Insights, made the following observation, which supports the need for strong authentication. "Across the industry, expect institutions that deploy these solutions to respond to heightened expectations of accountability, service delivery, and security. While no security infrastructure is foolproof, we expect a reduction in fraud rates, privacy violations, and security breaches at institutions that make this choice."

These issues have become increasingly important in recent years. In 2002, the U.S. saw the largest identity theft case ever - with more than 30,000 victims and in excess of $2.7 million in losses. Recent statistics show that identity theft cost $8.75 billion in 2002, and this figure will increase to $24 billion in 2003 (Source: Aberdeen Group). These figures are of particular concern to the government, financial and healthcare sectors, where privacy and security are constantly in danger of being compromised, often with potentially disastrous ends.