{"69126":{"#nid":"69126","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Company Uses Georgia Tech Innovation to Improve Transaction Security","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe quality of signals transmitted from devices such as smart phones can degrade dramatically with distance.  Whisper Communications is taking advantage of that basic law of physics to provide more secure wireless communication, including protection for financial transactions that use the \u0022digital wallet\u0022 technology now under development.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBased on patent-pending technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Atlanta company has developed an encoding methodology that makes data signals transmitted beyond its \u0022cone of silence\u0022 useless to any eavesdroppers.  Whisper is now working with First Data, a major payment processing provider, to demonstrate this layer of security using two of the newest Android phones.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our product will give consumers a higher degree of confidence that their private information is being protected during transactions, without them having to do anything,\u0022 said Steven McLaughlin, co-developer of the technology and a Ken Byers Professor in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDigital wallet technology will enable consumers to use their smart phones and other devices to make financial transactions, replacing traditional plastic credit cards.  But without strong security, transferring data from the phones to merchant terminals could expose it to theft from \u0022sniffer\u0022 devices that can capture wireless information.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhisper\u0027s software would be installed on mobile devices carrying the digital wallet technology, said Jeffrey McConnell, CEO of the company.  It would automatically encode the users\u0027 credit card information, which would then be decoded by similar software on the merchant side of the transaction.  Because of the company\u0027s proprietary coding, the information would only be readable within two or three feet of the merchant terminal -- and hopelessly garbled beyond that distance.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Once you get outside of that cone of silence, communications is no longer possible,\u0022 McConnell explained.  \u0022An eavesdropper hoping to get confidential information would get nothing.  This allows us to set a defined zone within which secure communication can occur.  Once you get beyond that boundary, no usable information can get out.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company believes that mobile financial transactions are the most compelling first application for the product, but the technology could be used wherever data traveling wirelessly needs to be protected.  Other uses might be in medical devices that transmit wirelessly, in the electronic check-in pads being developed to gather patient information in medical offices, and in streaming video played via wireless devices, McConnell said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our technology is an encoding methodology, so the methodology is the same with any application, whether it\u0027s for mobile payments or high-speed video,\u0022 said McConnell, who has a background with payment processing companies including American Express, First Data and Western Union.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhisper Communications has so far received seed funding from the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) VentureLab program, Atlanta-based Imlay Investments and the Georgia Tech Edison Fund.  It has also received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company has been working with First Data to evaluate the new product.  A full demonstration is planned for this summer, and McConnell said the software could be ready for the marketplace within six months.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe company expects to license its product to the developers of digital wallets, and to the makers of merchant terminals. Worldwide, there are about 20 million terminals in operation, and most of them would be candidates for the Whisper software.  In the United States alone, there are 150 million smart phones.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith its strong roots in financial services and information security, Atlanta is a good place to build a company like Whisper, McLaughlin noted.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Atlanta is an ideal city for the mobile payments and security approach that Whisper is taking,\u0022 he said.  \u0022It has always been known as a go-to place for cyber-security and has the largest concentration of credit card payment companies in the United States, so the combination of security and payments is a natural.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhisper\u0027s original technology was developed by McLaughlin and Georgia Tech alumni Cenk Argon and Demijan Klinc.  It has roots going back to \u0022quantum key distribution\u0022 research done at Georgia Tech\u0027s Lorraine campus with collaborators from Portugal.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMcLaughlin, who is also Georgia Tech\u0027s Vice Provost for International Initiatives, realized that technology developed for the earlier project could have applications in securing wireless communications.  But he didn\u0027t have a startup company in mind until he was approached by staff from the Georgia Tech VentureLab program.  The VentureLab team, which included Paul Freet, Keith McGreggor and Stephen Fleming, learned of the technology and approached McLaughlin about forming a company.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022VentureLab has been nothing less than fantastic for us,\u0022 said McLaughlin.  \u0022From the very beginning, we felt high interest, support and a push to succeed.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVentureLab introduced McLaughlin to McConnell, and was instrumental in obtaining funding to support early commercialization studies.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We have created a good product, none of which would have been there without what VentureLab did,\u0022 said McConnell.  \u0022They helped the researchers and pushed them to explore how this technology could be turned into a viable company.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EVentureLab is Georgia Tech\u0027s comprehensive center for technology commercialization, open to all faculty, research staff and students who want to form startup companies based upon their research. Part of Georgia Tech\u0027s Enterprise Innovation Institute, VentureLab transforms innovations into companies by developing engaging business models, connecting researchers with experienced entrepreneurs, locating sources of early-stage financing and preparing these new companies for global markets.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECompanies created within VentureLab become part of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), Georgia Tech\u0027s startup accelerator.  ATDC has been helping to launch and build successful technology companies for more than 30 years.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Abby Robinson (404-385-2264)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eabby@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn Atlanta-based company is taking advantage of the basic laws of physics -- and a Georgia Tech innovation -- to provide protection for financial transactions that use the \u0022digital wallet\u0022 technology now under development.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Whisper Communications provides security for financial transactions."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2011-08-02 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:09:52","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-08-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-08-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"69127":{"id":"69127","type":"image","title":"Whisper Communications","body":null,"created":"1449177239","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:13:59","changed":"1475894604","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:24"}},"media_ids":["69127"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.venturelab.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech VentureLab"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.atdc.org\/","title":"ATDC"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4238","name":"atdc"},{"id":"9651","name":"cyber-security"},{"id":"13857","name":"digital wallet"},{"id":"13858","name":"financial transactions"},{"id":"167055","name":"security"},{"id":"4193","name":"venturelab"},{"id":"13856","name":"Whisper Communications"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}