SafeNet, a global specialist in information security, has announced the addition of SafeBSF, a carrier-grade Generic Bootstraping Architecture (GBA) solution for mobile user authentication to its industry-leading portfolio of Mobile TV Protection and DRM solutions. SafeBSF provides mobile operators and service providers with a general-purpose authentication infrastructure, which can be used for multiple services such as mobile TV and mobile payments.
SafeBSF performs mutual authentication of the operator network and consumers-via their SIM card-who may be accessing a multimedia application, including mobile TV, during service access initiation using the GBA standard from the 3GPP. The SafeBSF solution is a complete bundle of GBA components, including a BSF, HSS/HLR Proxy, and a Zn proxy. By using SafeBSF, mobile operators and service providers can be confident that only authenticated users with access rights to their mobile services are able to access the content.
"When securely deployed and managed, services such as Mobile TV and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) present mobile operators and service providers with a tremendous opportunity to grow revenue by significantly increasing average spend per subscriber," said Vikrant Gandhi of Frost & Sullivan. "SafeNet has long been a strong provider in the DRM space and with the addition of SafeBSF to their Mobile TV Protection portfolio they have once again demonstrated their ability to address important market trends and deliver complete security solutions for the protection, management, and monetisation of next-generation digital content, features, and services."
SafeBSF can plug directly into an existing HLR (or provide a stand-alone HSS), thereby allowing mobile network operators to enhance their existing authentication infrastructure. This significantly reduces development cost and time to market.
"Increased demand for next-generation features and services such as mobile TV and mobile payments has forced mobile operators and service providers to prioritise user and device authentication to ensure the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of sensitive data and valuable content," said Dr. Simon Blake-Wilson, managing director, embedded security solutions, SafeNet. "With the addition of SafeBSF, SafeNet offers customers the industry's only complete, end-to-end Mobile TV Protection Solution which address rights management and authentication challenges while reducing development costs and shortening time to market."