In the context of banking applications such as online banking, mobile banking or electronic payment, electronic signatures are used whenever it is necessary to identify beyond any doubt the author or sender of an electronic document or data set, and to guarantee the integrity of the signed electronic information. It is obvious what consequences could be expected, if a malicious third person could impersonate the owner of a banking account, which is not his own. Due to the fact that neither stationary nor mobile end user devices hosting banking applications or other security-sensitive applications can be considered secure or trustworthy under any circumstances, it is absolutely necessary to use external and tamper-proof devices, in order to secure electronic transactions.
Empelor's innovative security device complies with the requirements of the Secoder-2 Standard issued by the "Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft" for online-banking, therefore being at least a class-3 smartcard reader. Its evaluation and mass production are being prepared. The product will be available in 2013. It features a multi-purpose NFC-chip, and the additional Bluetooth interface provides the possibility for its use together with all iOS-devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac). "Our German Secoder-2-Standard for secure online banking is finally becoming mobile", says Thomas Krebs, managing director of SIZ GmbH.
"We are glad that NFC is becoming a standard for mobile end user devices, and we would like to use it for the enhancement of security and trustworthiness. Therefore, we are offering the possibility to apply electronic signatures outside and independently of those nice but dangerous mobile devices", explains Dr. Paschalis Papagrigoriou, Executive Director of EMPELOR GmbH. "Europe needs stabilizing contributions in the field of mobile security, and we are willing to provide our part with proven German security technology and legendary Swiss precision."