Voltage Security is expected to announce on Monday that mobile phone maker Siemens is putting its encryption technology to the test.
Ten corporate customers of Siemens' communications group will take part in a beta of Voltage's identity-based encryption, or IBE, toolkit, set to be unveiled Monday. The technology takes identity information -- such as an email address, phone number or IP address -- and uses that for the public key for a cryptographic system, said Matt Pauker, company co-founder.
Siemens has integrated the IBE Toolkit into smart phones running Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system, Voltage said.
"Siemens wanted to ensure that content for its emails was encrypted," said Wasim Ahmad, Voltage's vice-president of marketing.
The interest in mobile phone encryption comes as viruses increasingly find their way onto mobile phones. A report from IBM last week highlighted mobile devices as the next major target of malicious coders.
Voltage said its SecureMail technology lets users send protected messages from mobile phones without the need for security certificates.
"Most public encryption keys require too many security credentials and make it complicated for the end user," Ahmad said.
The company is also expected to announce that Fujitsu, email security company CipherTrust, and instant messaging company IMLogic have also licensed its IBE Toolkit.
