Entrust Bows WAP Phone With Digital Security

In a bid to kick start the mobile commerce sector, security developer, Entrust, has launched a trial secure certificate service for WAP, allowing secure transactions to be made over wireless connections.

The Web services subsidiary of the company, Entrust.net, has made the certificate service available for a trial period of 21 days to service providers wanting to develop secure mobile transaction services. One of the first companies to trial the service is UK internet bank Egg, which plans to develop it to offer a greater variety of options to its users. Pete Marsden of Egg said that Entrust’s trial certificates would be the foundation for testing the confidentiality and security of future wireless applications. “We need to ensure the security and confidentiality of our wireless applications for the financial industry and this trial will enable us to test our technology to assure our customers,” he said.

Mobile phone developer Nokia will also be taking part in the trials as a precedent to rolling out more secure commercial services to its customers. “The importance of providing secure access is paramount in increasing customer confidence and adoption of mobile services, such as the one provided by Egg,” said Jukka Riivari, head of sales and marketing at Nokia.