Vodafone puts secure m-commerce to the test

NEWS The trial will involve 50 employees from the Radiocommunications Agency, an executive agency for the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), who will be signing for their travel expenses via mobile phones. The technology will be provided by SmartTrust's wireless public key infrastructure (PKI) software, which allows mobile users to generate legally binding digital signatures for online mobile transactions and use them in same way they would use a hand-written signature. The digital signing keys, which are based on secure encryption, are stored in the phone's SIM card, and accessed by the user with a PIN number. The technology is compatible with current generation GSM and WAP handsets as well as the next generation of 3G phones and services. The trial will start early next month and the company said it aims launch the service in full later this year.