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Porticus Launches 'Who I Am; Where I Am' at Speechtek; Combination Location-Aware Security and Voice Biometric Authentication Now Available; Nevada Gaming Control Board Approves Location-Aware Service for Remote WageringNEW YORK --(Business Wire)-- Aug. 7, 2006 -- Porticus Technology, Inc., which is driving the adoption of voice biometric authentication for secure and trusted remote communication, today unveils Valocater(TM), a Location-Aware service for mobile handsets. With Valocater, call center operators and m-commerce applications will be alerted to the geographic location and identity of a wireless caller before a phone is answered or business transacted. Combined with the Versona(TM) voice biometric from Porticus, the Valocater solution delivers 'triple-factor' authentication security to automate user login and reduce fraud. Initially designed and approved for licensed race and sports wagering in Nevada using wireless phones with GPS capability, Valocater's location verification system now insures jurisdictional compliance for gaming and government applications and uses both GPS and non-GPS capable handsets. In Nevada, Valocater confirms callers are within state borders in accordance with the law. Similar regulations apply to the lottery, which are specific to each state. "Offshore gaming operators seeking to protect themselves from legal issues associated with accepting wagers from the United States now have a simple option available," said Chris Shepler, founder and CFO of Porticus. Valocater optionally incorporates the same patent-pending voice biometric authentication algorithm found within Porticus Technology's Versona family of solutions. Porticus' Versona, based on a patent-pending voice algorithm developed during the course of a decade, relies on the Physiological aspects (length, width and thickness) of the human vocal tract, making it less susceptible to background noise, recorded playback and intra-speaker variability (cold and flu). As speech is considered the most natural form of human communication, it has become a viable biometric option for identification security and remote authentication for wireless transactions. State of Nevada is First On Board with Location-Aware Voice Biometric Already approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and in use for wireless wagering in Nevada, Valocater uses GPS to accurately verify that a caller is located within Nevada's state borders prior to a bet being placed, yet the solution also works on non-GPS capable handsets. Porticus' Location-Aware solution combines the benefits of remote, real-time wagering with approved location and identity verification required by regulators. Additionally, by automating the service, increased wagering can be quickly managed, saving valuable time from each call handled by a live operator. "Porticus' Valocater solution has already started to empower casinos and books so that patrons can place bets remotely from anywhere in Nevada," said Shepler. "The gaming industry is just one of many that can leverage the benefits of a combined location and user-authentication solution, and we're encouraged that new applications are being designed around the technology itself." Given its compact, software-only form factor, Valocater is portable to any GPS device that supports Java, and can either be pre-loaded onto a mobile phone or downloaded wirelessly Over The Air (OTA). Porticus provides an API for developers to easily integrate Valocater into mobile applications. Additional components to operate the full solution are installed at the book maker's server and configured to allow through only those calls that are validated, and Porticus hosts a Geographical Information server with user, enterprise and location information. To learn more about Valocater or Versona, contact Porticus Technology at +1-781-444-PORT. About Porticus Technology, Inc. Porticus Technology(TM) is driving the adoption of voice biometric authentication for secure and trusted remote communication. Based on more than a decade of research and development in forensics, Porticus' patent-pending voice print technology overcomes common problems associated with voice biometric use such as background noise interference and recording playback. The company's suite of software-only solutions--Versona(TM)--can be customized and easily integrated or embedded for multi-factor user authentication within highly regulated markets such as banking, financial services, gaming and health care. The company is headquartered in Massachusetts and maintains research and development facilities in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.porticusinc.com. |
