Source: Andrey Suslov via Alamy Stock Photo

NEWS BRIEF

In an effort to convince consumers that it’s safe to answer their phones, root of trust provider SecureG has partnered with CTIA, a trade association that represents the wireless communications industry, on an initiative intended to deliver a secure branded call experience for businesses.

Branded Calling ID (BCID) is an industry-led, standards-based Rich Call Data project to create a secure, interoperable ecosystem in which businesses can embed information like their logos and reason for calling when they reach out to consumers by phone. BCID digital signatures are secured by SecureG’s public key infrastructure (PKI) solutions. 

"No one wants to answer their phone because of all the spam and scams, and it is only getting worse now that AI-generated voices can impersonate people and businesses," said Todd Warble, CTO of SecureG, in a statement. BCID has a secure-by-design foundation that enables consumers to trust the authenticity of the brands and intentions of the caller, Warble said.

To secure the caller’s brand identity, SecureG provides high-assurance operations of the CTIA Secure Telephone Identity Certification Authority (CTIA STI-CA), Intermediate Certification Authority, and the Certificate Repository. The SecureG trust anchors, secured in hardened concrete bunkers, give BDIC the ability to authenticate participants to sign calls. The BCID system is designed to work across networks and mobile phones, and enterprise customers only pay for branded calls that are confirmed delivered. 

BCID allows businesses to brand their calls while preventing scammers and spammers from gaining access to NCID signing certificate. BCID is designed to work seamlessly across networks and mobile phones, so enterprise businesses can deliver trusted, branded calls to their consumers.

The initiative is aimed at reducing the risk of fraud and spam calls from bad actors who impersonate real businesses. A recent survey found that three-quarters of respondents would answer a call if the caller was authenticated by a name, logo or reason for the call, the company said in a statement. BCID mitigates the risk of consumers being harmed by fraud and bad actors by vetting to deliver a trusted, branded call experience for consumers.