Telefonica : Path5, and SmartAccess announcements at Security Innovation Day

Madrid, Thursday, 16 October 2016.- Today, as part of a Security Innovation Day, Telefónica gave attendees a taste of its cyber-security strategy, unveiling new products and services aimed at boosting its cyber security offer. Announcements included a global strategic agreement with Microsoft to combat digital crime through intelligence sharing; the integration of technology of leading Spanish company, SmartAccess, into Eleven Paths which provides digital-signature solutions; and the launch of "Path5", a new cyber-intelligence product for the detection of security threats in the mobile environment.

Telefónica revealed at the event that it is currently working fast to develop new, innovative security services and products that will help to protect businesses against current and emerging cyber threats. In its home market of Spain, Telefónica has become a leader in security with regards to turnover, the number of devices managed, completed projects, and also the number of companies and institutions it is working with  - this includes some of the country's largest companies, public institutions, and National Security Forces.

This year has seen Telefónica sign strategic agreements with Google, Microsoft, and Facebook to strengthen its own security services as well as the products and services of these partner companies. Alongside this, Telefónica has also formed alliances with leading protection-technology companies (firewalls, IPS, SIEM, WAF, etc.) and signed an agreement with PwC to increase its auditing and consulting capabilities.

New products and alliances

The main purpose of the event was to showcase Telefónica's extensive security expertise and reveal new products, technology and partnerships to extend this. Below are some additional details on the major announcements made at the Security Innovation Day:

Path5

Path5 is new cyber-intelligence product that helps to counteract threats in the mobile world. Developed by Eleven Paths, the product facilitates the investigation of mobile application environments by security professionals and experts using its patented big data technology and correlation engine.

Path5 offers a comprehensive set of features that will enhance the analysis and investigation of any incident response where a mobile component may be used. Path5 lets analysts track the activity of these mobile components' developers, helping to predict what other actions these developers have taken. This not only helps to identify one malicious app, but identify the full range of apps created by a criminal developer, significantly reducing their ability to upload further malevolent applications.

Path5 also allows alerts to be set up which detect the activity performed by rogue or malicious developers, therefore offering a complete solution for security, legal and marketing teams, or mobile apps trends analysts.

Integration of SmartAccess

Telefónica announced that as part of its expansion strategy in the world of security, it is integrating the solutions and development teams of SmartAccess, one of the world's most innovative digital-certification and biometrics companies, into Eleven Paths.

SmartAccess develops solutions aimed at digital identity and electronic signatures, helping to create a more secure environment while also reducing the costs associated with the use of analogue methods (contracts, order notes, invoices). Biometric signatures not only remove the need for paper, but also allow anyone - people or businesses - to obtain immediate consent for any transaction, anywhere in the world.

Agreement with Microsoft

To further strengthen Telefónica's wide reaching security capabilities, Telefónica announced the signing of a worldwide agreement with Microsoft. This agreement enables the real-time sharing of data of the data from the cybercrime intelligence programme, which is vital to customers of both companies, since the exchange of commercial information is crucial to fight cybercrime, both now and in the future.

Microsoft's cybercrime unit has extensive experience in the eradication of malware and harmful programs, while Telefónica and Eleven Paths contribute their experience in the advanced search for malware threats and other types of cyber-intelligence.

Improvements to Latch

Lastly, Telefónica took advantage of the cyber-security event to present the latest improvements Eleven Paths has made to Latch - the "digital padlock" application that allows users to manage when and which online services are available.

The most significant advance is the presentation of a new piece in the Latch infrastructure called 'Latch Satellite', a component that allows the installation of a Latch server in an organisation that already integrates Latch into its services. This improves response times enormously and increases the capacity of the organisation to send large volumes of status requests from any of its internal or external applications.

As of yesterday, new versions of the Latch app are available in the official Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and FirefoxOS stores. And as another new development, the Latch app is now available for Blackberry.

This innovation day, showcasing Telefónica's security capabilities, builds upon the company's "digital telco" ambitions and its commitment to technology-driven innovation.