Introduction to Mobile Connect

MOBILE CONNECT
THE SIMPLE, SECURE, UNIVERSAL LOGIN SOLUTION
WITH PRIVACY PROTECTION
WHITE PAPER
Connecting Identity.
Transforming Digital Business.

UBISECURE WHITE PAPER
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INTRODUCTION
There is no more ubiquitous computing device than a mobile phone. Mobile Connect is an emerging
global standard led by the GSMA that turns your phone into a user-friendly identity and authentication
device for a wide range of consumer and business applications. Currently supported in countries
covering over 3 billion mobile users, Mobile Connect promises to provide a truly ubiquitous solution to
help consumers and business alike improve access to online services by eliminating passwords, and
providing increased security, privacy and identity assurance.

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WHAT IS MOBILE CONNECT?
Mobile Connect is protocol based on OpenID Connect, that uses the mobile number (MSISDN) as the
user ID for global and federated authentication. Mobile Connect standards are developed in the
MODRNA group.
GLOBAL AND FEDERATED
Mobile numbers (MSISDN) are globally unique numbers issued mobile network operators. Mobile
Connect allows online service providers to send authentication requests securely to mobile users on
participating mobile networks with the help of the GSMA discovery service, which determines to which

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mobile operator a mobile number belongs in real-time. For example, an online service located in
Singapore can authenticate a Mobile Connect user from a Canadian mobile operator.
AUTHENTICATORS
Each market is different. In many developed countries, smart
phone penetration is quickly approaching 100%, whereas in
developing markets inexpensive feature phones are prevalent.
Mobile Connect allows each mobile network operator to deploy
a suitable authenticator for their subscribers based on market
demand. The authenticators range from simple SMS –based
methods to advanced smartphone app authenticators (SAA)
using biometrics and PKI. It is up to the mobile network operator
to select the appropriate authenticators for their markets, and
there can be more than one authenticator deployed by an
operator.
IDENTITY GATEWAY
The glue between the online service provider and the mobile
device-based authenticator Identity Gateway. It is the primary
interface for service providers to send requests for
authentication and authorization by Mobile Connect users,
routing the request to the appropriate authentication server corresponding to the particular user based
on the capabilities of their device and how they enrolled with the Mobile Connect service. If the
operator has chosen to deploy more than one authenticator, the Identity Gateway is responsible for
sending these requests to the correct authenticators.
The Identity Gateway performs other important functions such as verifying subscriber status (phone
number is active), collecting end-user consent, verifying identity, delivering identity attributes,
providing geolocation data for the online service. It may also provide the mechanism to deliver media-
rich branding in support of the online service provider and/or mobile operator.

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BENEFITS OF MOBILE CONNECT
For mobile network operators, Mobile Connect represents a new
business opportunity. Mobile network operators (MNOs)
throughout the world possess a treasure trove of valid identity
information including customers’ the standard name, address, e-
mail and phone number, but also data that can be mitigate risk in
online transactions such as geolocation (phone is in another
country than the transaction) or how long the user has been a
customer (establish reputation score).
Mobile Connect can also help reduce friction and user
engagement at the MNO’s own services, by making it easier for
customers to get access to online and mobile-based services.
Better engagement and increased usage means greater potential
to upsell new and enhanced services.
The true potential as a new business for the MNO lies in the
combination of user friendly authentication and commercialising
the identity information. End users will like the mobile oriented
authentication that increases security. They will appreciate the
smooth registration experience. They will trust the solution as it
puts the end user in control of consents.
For the online service providers, Mobile Connect can already provide access to billions of enabled users
globally with better, more secure, login to existing online services. Mobile Connect can also be used to
streamline new user registration, using identity attributes verified by the mobile operator available
through the Mobile Connect service, with integrated end-user consent. The result is lower
abandonment rates, increased registration and customer satisfaction with a higher level of identity
assurance to mitigate against identity fraud and account takeovers, and streamline account recovery.

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TRUST, SECURITY AND PRIVACY
End-user consent is at the heart of Mobile Connect – providing trust and end-user control. Unless the
user provides consent, no personal informational about a user is shared with the online service
provider, including their mobile number. Each link created to an online service also requires consent.
Consent is managed by users through a user interface provided by the Identity Gateway, allowing users
to control where they go and what information is shared with whom at all times.
Mobile Connect also enhances privacy from the ground up. It uses anonymous identifiers (the Pseudo-
anonymous Customer Reference, or PCR) as an alias to represent users at online service providers,
which can be linked to existing or new accounts, effectively replacing existing password authentication
mechanisms. PCRs are unique for each user at each online service provider in order to prevent link-
ability and trace-ability of where users go when using Mobile Connect.
From a security perspective, Mobile Connect uses best-in-class technologies to ensure the highest level
of authentication assurance. First, in addition to being convenient for users, the mobile device is an
“out-of-band” authentication device, not susceptible to man-in-the-middle or man-in-the-browser
attacks common with password as well as second factor OTP solutions. Second, the authenticator uses
advanced security protocols such as PKI and biometrics to prevent the unauthorized device and users
from authenticating or authorizing transactions, without compromising user convenience of a single
tap, PIN or thumb to login.
EDGE CASES
Mobile Connect is a protocol. Implementing and deploying a solution that just implements the protocol
is not enough for a successful Mobile Connect solution. Edge cases need to built-in to the final
production deployment. The Mobile Connect deployment should support and survive cases where
people lose their devices, hand them to someone else, switch operators, have multiple devices, change
subscriptions etc.

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CASE STUDY –TELECOMS COMMERCIAL PILOT
The Canadian Mobile Connect Commercial Pilot where Ubisecure Identity Platform provides the
Identity Gateway functionality was nominated as a finalist in the Global Mobile Awards.
CONCLUSION
Mobile Connect has the potential to change how we think about online authentication on a global
basis. Mobile network operators can create new business and services with Mobile Connect. Online
service providers have a real and already wide-spread alternative to implement not just convenient and
secure authentication, but also smooth registration.
As a mobile network operator you need a feature rich and proven Identity Gateway solution that is
easy and quick to deploy and supports the edge cases out of the box. Depending on your market you
then need to select the appropriate authenticators to cover your subscriber base.
Contact Ubisecure today to hear how we can help you as a mobile network operator to become also an
identity provider in your market.
86% 30% 74%
FOCUS GROUP SCORE FOR
THE IN THE CANADIAN
MOBILE CONNECT
COMMERCIAL PILOT USING
SMARTPHONE APP
AUTHENTICATOR (SAA)
INCREASED USAGE OF
ONLINE SERVICE
APPLICATIONS BY MOBILE
CONNECT USERS IN
UBISECURE’S CANADIAN
TELECOMS COMMERCIAL
PILOT
USERS CONTINUE TO
USE MOBILE CONNECT
AFTER THE FIRST TIME IN
UBISECURE’S CANADIAN
TELECOMS
COMMERCIAL PILOT

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Ubisecure is a pioneering European b2b and b2c Customer Identity & Access Management (CIAM)
software provider and cloud identity services enabler dedicated to helping its customers realise the
true potential of digital business.
Ubisecure provides a powerful Identity Platform to connect customer digital identities with customer-
facing SaaS and enterprise applications in the cloud and on-premise. The platform consists of
productised CIAM middleware and API tooling to help connect and enrich strong identity profiles;
manage identity usage, authorisation and progressive authentication policies; secure and consolidate
identity, privacy and consent data; and streamline identity based workflows and decision delegations.
Uniquely, Ubisecure’s Identity Platform connects digital services and Identity Providers, such as social
networks, mobile networks, banks and Governments, to allow Service Providers to use rich, verified
identities to create frictionless login, registration and customer engagement while improving privacy
and consent around personal data sharing to meet requirements such as GDPR and PSD2.
Ubisecure is accredited by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to issue Legal Entity
Identifiers (LEI) under its RapidLEI brand, a cloud-based service that automates the LEI lifecycle to
deliver LEIs quickly and easily. The company has offices in London and Finland.
To learn more about Customer IAM and Company Identity
solutions visit www.ubisecure.com or contact us at
info@ubisecure.com

Introduction to Mobile Connect

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Introduction to Mobile Connect