Vantel unveils GPS-based security solution

Zia Askari

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based Vantel Technologies, in association with Cyberlocator Inc., has introduced a new approach to authentication that utilizes space geodetic methods to form a time-dependent location signature that is virtually impossible to forge. "This solution can be useful for banks who need to provide enhanced security for applications like e-banking operations. We are also eyeing the defense and the egovernance segments for our solution," said Prabhu JVR, president of Vantel Technologies India.

CyberLocator Inc., based in Boulder, Colorado, USA., uses the US government’s Global Positioning System (GPS) to authenticate the physical location of any networked device. The company’s flagship product, Location Secure, is a service that restricts network access to authorized users who gain entry only from pre-authorized locations.

According to Kenn Gold, CyberLocator’s chief scientist, traditional methods that control access to a computer network involve something one has or something one knows. "Passwords, smart cards, and even biometrics are subject to theft, misuse or penetration. We look at network security in an entirely different way," said Gold. "With Location Secure in place, network access is denied unless the user logs in with the proper credentials from the proper location".

"This method can be used to control access to sensitive systems, transactions or information. It would serve as a strong deterrent to many potential intruders who now hide behind the anonymity afforded by their remote locations and fraudulent use of conventional authentication methods," Prabhu added.

The use of geographic location can supplement or complement other methods of authentication, which are still useful when users at the same site have separate accounts and privileges. Its added value is a high level of assurance against intrusion from any unapproved location, regardless of whether these other methods have been compromised. In critical environments that could include military command and control, telephone switching, air traffic control or banking, this extra assurance can be extremely important in order to avoid a potential catastrophe, one that would have reverberations far beyond the individual system that is "cracked."

"We are pleased to welcome Vantel Technologies Ltd (India) as our newest value-added reseller," said Paul Siegel, CyberLocator’s director of business development. "As one of the most important technology companies in the region, Vantel has both the skills and the contacts to do a terrific job in selling Location Secure services to users looking to deploy a higher level of security on their network." Siegel added, "Our early adopters include government and military facilities as well as financial institutions; in other words, high-risk, high-value networks," he said.

Vantel Technologies provides services in advanced networking and telecom technologies. Vantel’s voice and data convergence services seamlessly merge telephony and data networks into a single, multi-dimensional network, giving rise to applications such as IP enabled converged contact centers which can support converged platforms like Unified Messaging to transport voice, data and e-mail services. The company has its presence in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.