News from the Wire

Iovation launches Phone Verification two-factor authentication

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 — 12:17:31 (EST)

Portland, Ore., Jan. 29, 2013 - iovation, the leading provider of device reputation protection against online fraud and abuse, today announced the immediate availability of iovation Phone Verification. The two-factor phone authentication solution provides an additional fraud-fighting layer from iovation that saves businesses money, time and resources. When addressing modern malware threats such as Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) and account takeover, strong authentication is an essential ingredient to protect users. Pairing the iovation Phone Verification service with ReputationManager 360 -- iovation's shared device reputation and real-time fraud prevention service -- is the easiest way to consolidate comprehensive fraud protection against modern attacks.

"With today's always-evolving cybercrime schemes, it is essential to provide a layered defense against the most sophisticated attacks," said iovation Vice President of Product Scott Olson. "We are introducing Phone Verification because it is a proven and easy-to-deploy solution to deter today's highly organized network of cybercriminals, and it also complements our existing fraud prevention services."

iovation Phone Verification leverages two-factor authentication from TeleSign, adding an additional layer of security to screen for high-risk transactions. When conducting a transaction online, Phone Verification sends a unique verification code (one-time passcode) to the customer's landline or mobile phone. The code can be sent via SMS or through an automated voice call to a landline or mobile phone, localized in native languages and dialects. The customer then enters the code into a specific website. If the code matches, they are authenticated and can proceed.

Security experts agree that leveraging a customer's phone as an authentication device offers a highly reliable and customer-friendly approach for protecting customers and businesses. "Using an 'out-of-band' communication channel significantly reduces transaction risk because it requires a compromise to both the channel the transaction is initiated from and the alternate channel to complete a fraudulent transaction," said CEB TowerGroup research director Jason Malo. "Delivering one-time passwords to a phone is a familiar process to consumers, and with efficient communication and context can make them feel more secure."

Specific business benefits with iovation Phone Verification include:

• Reduce Chargebacks -- Phone Verification allows companies to ensure their customers are who they say they are at the time of the transaction, reducing chargebacks on fraudulent transactions.

• Combat Common Fraud Attacks -- Phone Verification has been proven to protect accounts against compromise, phishing and fraudulent transactions, and is a first step in defending against account takeover and MITM.

• Make Decisions Faster -- Phone Verification verifies customers' legitimacy in real time, reducing the number of orders that require manual review. Good customers do not have to wait, saving businesses money and time on cumbersome review queues.

• Global Coverage and Localization -- Phone Verification sends one-time passcodes to more than 200 countries and localized in over 87 languages and dialects.

• Meet Compliance Guidelines -- Two-factor authentication is a common requirement for financial and other sensitive online transactions. Regulations such as those in FFIEC can be met in a combined iovation ReputationManager 360/Phone Verification implementation.

To learn more about Phone Verification, iovation and partner TeleSign are hosting a webinar on February 12 at 10:00 am PST. For more details and to sign up for the webinar, go to www3.gotomeeting.com/register/509015270 .

About iovation iovation protects online businesses and their end users against fraud and abuse through an industry-leading combination of advanced device identification, shared device reputation and real-time risk evaluation. More than 2,000 fraud managers around the globe leverage iovation's database of Internet devices and relationships between them to determine the level of risk associated with any type of online transaction. Retail, financial services, social network, gaming and other companies make real-time queries to iovation's knowledge base of more than 1.2 billion devices from every country in the world. Clients also leverage iovation's Fraud Force Community, an exclusive virtual crime-fighting network of the world's foremost security experts sharing intelligence about cybercrime and prevention techniques. Every day, iovation stops over 150,000 fraud attempts. For more information, visit www.iovation.com .

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Source: Company press release.