Telus employees swap swipe cards for smartphones

Canadian operator Telus’ employees will soon be able to access  buildings on their premises, log in to secure company networks, and share sensitive data using their smartphones.

The operator plans to use Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICCs) that host Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials in its employees’ handsets. The cards allow employees to securely sign in to facilities and services using their smartphones as well as using them as access cards for Telus buildings.

“At Telus we’re aiming to have 70 per cent of our employees working from home at least some of the time by 2015,” said Ken Haertling, VP and chief security officer at Telus.

He added that with this goal in mind the firm has looked to ensure that employees can easily access its network any time, from anywhere.

“What better way to do this than through the convenience of our employees’ mobile devices?”

The Broadband Asia conference is taking place on the 29th-30th April 2014 at the Suntec, Singapore.Click here to download a brochure.

The operator partnered with identity and credential management software provider Intercede and SIM card maker Gemalto for the initiative. Intercede’s MyID technology is powered by Gemalto’s UICC and IDPrime PIV.

“Intercede has a long-standing relationship with Telus and we are excited to see the real business benefits MyID will bring our partner,” said Chris Edwards, CTO at Intercede. “Through MyID, user access to mobile services is more secure and lives are simplified by integrating the smart card function into the mobile handset.”