"Rush to develop mobile wallet leaves consumers vulnerable to security risks", says ValidSoft CEO Pat Carroll

LONDON, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pat Carroll, CEO of ValidSoft, a global supplier of telecommunications-based fraud prevention, authentication and transaction verification solutions, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications, Corp. (NYSE MKT formerlyNYSE Amex: ETAK), discussed the security risks of the mobile phone at the Cartes 2012 conference in Paris today.

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Since the first announcement of mobile wallet products in early 2011, there has been a rush for mobile network operators, banks, phone manufacturers and retailers to join the world of near field communication (NFC) contactless and P2P payments. However, according to ValidSoft's Mr Pat Carroll: "The rush to grab a share of the market has led to compromised security, highlighting the need for the industry to find a robust security solution."

According to McKinsey (Global Mobile Payments Consumer Survey June 2012) by 2013, almost 50 percent of us will use mobile payments at least once a week – if not every day, and research from Gartner has predicted that the cost of cybercrime will increase by 10 percent per annum through to 2016 thanks to the rise of mobile devices and mobile-based apps.

Pat Carroll said: "I am excited to participate in Cartes and view it as an opportunity to discuss industry trends in fraud prevention and technology. Fraud prevention and identity protection are of paramount importance for any banking or financial enterprise, particularly in the realm of mobile commerce, and I look forward to sharing my insights on the latest innovations developed to combat this growing global problem."

With more than 25 years of financial services and technological experience, Mr. Carroll founded and leads ValidSoft with the objective of preventing fraud through industry-leading authentication and transaction verification solutions. Throughout his career, Pat has been at the forefront of industry thinking, representing organizations and industry bodies and participating in industry initiatives.

At the Cartes conference Mr Carroll highlighted the opportunity that mobile payments and banking provide for proximity correlation, invisible layers and voice-based authentication. He also talked about the scope for including a "trust" factor – a protected channel that is created in real time and exists only for the duration of that transaction.

"The goal should always be to make enrollment, activations and transactions safe, but at the same time not to compromise the customer experience with overly complicated secured procedures. There is a delicate balance to be met if the mobile wallet is to be a secured as well as a commercial success."

Mr Carroll concluded: "The way to a European standard for the mobile wallet is a test of endurance rather than a sprint. The opportunities that will be generated through the development of mobile wallets are immense – it's not just a case of racing headlong in pursuit of quick market share."

Notes to Editors

ValidSoft Limited has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk since early 2010 and underpins our mobile/cloud security offering. The company is a market leader in providing solutions to counter electronic fraud relating to a variety of bank, card, internet and telephone channels. ValidSoft's solutions are used to verify the authenticity of both parties to a transaction (Mutual Authentication), the security of the relevant telecommunication channel used (Secure Communications), and the integrity of transactions itself (Transaction Verification) for the mass market, in a highly cost-effective and secure manner, while being very easy to use.

The company counts several leading worldwide service providers and institutions among its customers. These companies benefit from a very substantial reduction in false positives, thereby freeing up resources to combat actual fraud, as well as a substantial elimination of the fraud itself, all in real time. ValidSoft is the only security software company in the world that has been granted three European Privacy Seals. Visit www.validsoft.com.

Elephant Talk Communications, Corp. (NYSE: ETAK), (formerlyNYSE Amex: ETAK) is a leading international provider of mobile networking software and services. The Company's mission is to provide a single service, fully enabling and securing the mobile cloud.

Elephant Talk empowers Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) by providing a cloud based mobile communications infrastructure, operating software and managed services, based mostly on company developed and owned software. We enable these Mobile Operators and Virtual Network Operators by offering a full suite of products, delivery platforms, support services, superior industry expertise and high quality customer service without substantial upfront investment.

As a specialized outsourcing partner, we provide operating software, managed services, cloud and SaaS solutions, an integrated transaction and delivery platform to the mobile telecommunications industry globally. Our products include remote health care, credit card fraud prevention, mobile internet ID security, secure remote file access management, loyalty and transaction management services and a whole range of other emerging mobile services.

Elephant Talk can count several of the world's leading Mobile Operators amongst their customers including Vodafone, T-Mobile and Zain, and virtually all business is focused on tier 1 operators worldwide. Visit http://www.elephanttalk.com/.

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SOURCE ValidSoft