NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jun 11, 2013) - Online identity proofing service miiCard and the smart authentication security company Toopher, today announced a partnership to help users and businesses more effectively fight fraud and secure new services online. By combining a miiCard proven identity with Toopher's geo-location authentication app, the new solution can instantly verify the legitimate use of a proven identity online.
"This partnership enables the online equivalent of a consistent, in-person photo ID check -- instantly confirming both the identity of a user and its assertion," said Josh Alexander, CEO of Toopher. "With this capability, businesses can save money, reduce fraud, and offer entirely new services online."
miiCard leverages a user's ability to access secure accounts to prove their identity to the level of a photo ID -- purely online and in just minutes. The Toopher mobile app is used for location aware, two-step verification every time a member edits or shares their miiCard ID. Together, miiCard and Toopher can instantly and automatically verify the legitimate use of a proven identity.
For example, users of both miiCard and Toopher can use the joint solution to verify their identity and login securely to social networks in order to prove the validity of their social accounts. In more secure settings such as in a banking relationship or to access online health records, a user could leverage the joint identity proofing and location aware authentication technology to access or share highly sensitive data that would normally be unavailable online.
A number of recent, standalone efforts by Twitter, Facebook, and Google to prove user identities or deploy two-factor authentication have only reinforced the need for a simple, secure, and broad way to guarantee the identity of a user at the time they are attempting to use it.
"There is a deep and pervasive trust problem within the internet that inhibits much of what we do online in social networks, for the sharing of sensitive data, or in high value transactions," said miiCard CEO James Varga. "Most services offered today are only partial solutions or temporary Band-Aids that cannot completely prevent fraud or deception. This partnership effectively slams the door on online fraud."
Individual miiCard or Toopher users must first link their accounts to use the jointly supported service. Once active, users can apply their miiCard Trusted Identity to their Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn accounts to verify their identity on any social media accounts. The joint solution can also be used as a user-controlled Bring Your Own Identity (BYOID) service for both identity and authentication across a number of sites and services, including those financial, healthcare, dating, and online recruiting sites that currently support a miiCard login.
Businesses using miiCard's Identity as a Service (IDaaS) platform can require members to use Toopher's authentication app to reduce fraud and enable new online services without committing additional time, expense or resources.
miiCard's Level of Assurance 3+ (LOA3+) identity service is currently able to verify over 350 million individuals across ten countries and five continents. For more information, please visit www.miicard.com/business/multi-factor-authentication. The Toopher mobile app is available by visiting http://toopher.com.
About Toopher
Toopher is a smart, modern authentication solution designed around user behavior and powered by your phone's location awareness. By marrying the strongest state-of-the-art, true out-of-band pervasive technology with decidedly lean and thoughtful UX, Toopher automates* the authentication process via your phone -- not only preventing online fraud and identity theft, but actually creating a security solution that people want to use. No more passwords hacks, no more codes. It's simple, secure, and your phone stays in your pocket. Founded in 2011 by a University of Texas PhD student and an adjunct professor, Toopher is funded by Alsop Louie and is a portfolio company of the Austin Technology Incubator. To learn more and try it for yourself, visit http://toopher.com and follow us @toopher
About miiCard
miiCard is a global online Identity as a Service (IDaaS) platform that establishes true trust online by guaranteeing an individual's identity to the level of an offline photo ID check, completely online and in just minutes. miiCard helps businesses eliminate fraud, reduce manual processing costs, and prevent high rates of dropout when offline identity checks are required. A member-driven service, based on the principles of Bring Your Own Identity, miiCard empowers consumers to proactively manage their digital identity, build trust online, and trade and transact with confidence. miiCard currently supports the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France and Spain.
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