Company:V-Key

From HandWiki
V-KEY
TypePrivate
IndustryB2B, mobile security, cybersecurity, deep technology
Founded2011
HeadquartersSingapore,
Singapore
Key people
Eddie Chau (Co-founder and Chairman), Benjamin Mah (Co-founder), Joseph Gan (Co-founder and President), Er Chiang Kai (CTO)
ServicesMobile security, digital security, cryptography, software authentication
Number of employees
51 - 100 (2017)
Websitewww.v-key.com

V-Key is a software-based digital security solutions provider. Headquartered in Singapore, it provides back-end to front-end solutions to financial institutions, mobile payment providers and governments to implement cloud-based payments, authentication for mobile banking, and secured mobile applications for user access and data protection.[1][2]

Background & founders

V-Key was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Eddie Chau, Benjamin Mah and Joseph Gan. Eddie Chau, who also formed digital agency Brandtology,[3] acquired by iSentia in 2014, started V-Key primarily to secure mobile devices and applications with patented technology.[4][5]

Benjamin Mah is the co-founder and chief executive officer of V-Key. He was general manager at e-Cop (acquired by a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings) and regional director at Encentuate (acquired by IBM), before he co-founded V-Key.[6] He is concurrently venture partner of Venture Craft, chairman of JumpStart Asia and a mentor at UOB Finlabs.[7]

Joseph Gan is the third co-founder of V-Key. Before joining V-Key, he was at the Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT) as the head of the Cryptography Lab, where he oversaw research and development into cryptographic solutions for the Ministry of Defence (Singapore).[8][9]

Companies that have funded V-Key are IPV Capital and Ant Financial Services, which runs the Alipay mobile wallet app.[10][11]

Technology

V-Key provides security solutions to businesses to support cloud-based payments, digital identity and authentication for mobile banking as well as other secured mobile applications[11][12] via its core technology—V-OS.

V-OS is a virtual secure element that is globally patented. It is certified by industry bodies including the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA)[13] and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (for FIPS 140-2 validation) in the United States.[14][15] The technology provides a secure data transmission solution that can be used for encrypted communications, a mobile soft token to replace hardware tokens, as well as mobile authentication solutions[2][13]

Solutions

V-Key's partners are financial institutions, governments and mobile payment providers in various markets.[16] Its technology has been used by:

  • digibank by DBS Bank India, Indonesia and Singapore: digibank built V-Key's security solution into its authentication system for user authentication.[17][18][19]
  • UOB: V-Key developed the security solution for UOB's Mighty app with V-OS. The app is a secured mobile wallet for all UOB debit and credit card holders. Customers are able to make transactions from the app via NFC by tapping their phones against the merchants’ payment terminal and entering a PIN, or authenticating through an SMS OTP system.[2][20]
  • ChinaPnR - financial payment provider: V-Key integrates a virtual secure element into "ChinaPnR POS Acquirer" (Point-of-Sale payment acquisition query platform) to protect mobile applications' runtime environment, program logic and important data.[21]
  • Ant Financial Services - streamlines payment services for e-commerce website AliExpress: V-Key provides a virtual software solution V-OS for Ant Financial to secure transactions on AliExpress, and provides cryptographic services and trusted environments to secure payments that are processed by Alipay on AliExpress, as well as risk management for every transaction.[22][23]
  • Assurity Trusted Solutions: V-Key provides a mobile soft token application for Assurity's OneKey Mobile authentication solution. It has multi-layered protection against advanced threats that target mobile applications, so that end-users can authenticate themselves via an OTP that is secure.[24]

Awards

V-Key has received the following awards:

  • SiTF Awards - Gold (Emerging Technology), Silver (Mobile Application), Bronze (Startup)[25]
  • Red Herring 100 Asia Winner and Red Herring 100 Global Winner[26][27]
  • ASEAN ICT Bronze Award (Start-up)[28]
  • Innotribe Startup Challenge 2013 Finalist[29]
  • CIO Review's CIO Mobility "20 Most Promising Mobility Solutions Providers"[30]
  • National Infocomm Awards - 2nd Runner Up for Most Innovative Product/Solution[31]
  • The Asian Banker Technology Innovation Award for Best Mobile Banking Project – Retail Banking[32]

See also

References

  1. "Ant Financial, V-Key Partner On Mobile Security | PYMNTS.com" (in en-US). http://www.pymnts.com/news/security-and-risk/2016/ant-financial-partners-with-v-key-to-secure-mobile-payments/. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Securing and extending the digital economy with trust and user experience". http://sbr.com.sg/co-written-partner/sponsored-articles/securing-and-extending-digital-economy-trust-and-user-experien. 
  3. "Tech in Asia - Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem" (in en-US). https://www.techinasia.com/brandtology-founder-eddie-chau-at-it-again-starts-v-key-a-mobile-security-company. 
  4. "Eddie Chau: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=59230854&privcapId=217765341. 
  5. Ping, Foo Boon. "Interview: "Convenient security without compromise"" (in en). http://www.theasianbanker.com/updates-and-articles/interview-convenient-security-without-compromise?&lang=Chinese. 
  6. "Benjamin Mah: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=217861271&privcapId=217765341&previousCapId=217765341&previousTitle=V-Key%2520Inc. 
  7. "The new digital economy where software security and convenience meet". https://sis.smu.edu.sg/newsletter/25451. 
  8. "Joseph Gan: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=217861317&privcapId=217765341&previousCapId=217765341&previousTitle=V-Key%2520Inc. 
  9. "Singapore based V-Key secures US$4M in Series A funding from IPV Capital" (in en-US). e27. https://e27.co/singapore-based-v-key-secures-us4m-in-series-a-funding-from-ipv-capital/. 
  10. Russell, Jon (2012-09-26). "Mobile Security Startup V-Key Closes $4 million Series A Round" (in en-US). The Next Web. https://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/09/26/mobile-security-startup-v-key-secures-4m-series-a-funding-ipv-capital/. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 migration (2014-11-18). "Alibaba unit takes stake in Singapore-based mobile security software firm V-Key" (in en). The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/alibaba-unit-takes-stake-in-singapore-based-mobile-security-software-firm. 
  12. "V-Key raises $12m in Series B from Alipay arm - DealStreetAsia". http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/v-key-raises-12m-series-b-funding-from-alipay-arm-905/. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 Cheok, Jacquelyn. "Case study: Pioneering cybersecurity solutions for mobile" (in en). The Business Times. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/hub/singapores-future-economy/case-study-pioneering-cybersecurity-solutions-for-mobile. 
  14. "Validated FIPS 140-1 and FIPS 140-2 Cryptographic Modules". http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140val-all.htm. 
  15. "Accreditation@IMDA - Infocomm Media Development Authority". https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/programmes-and-grants/startups/accreditation-at-imda. 
  16. Lee, Jamie. "Alibaba-backed S'pore firm has key to new mobile security lock" (in en). The Business Times. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/alibaba-backed-spore-firm-has-key-to-new-mobile-security-lock. 
  17. hermes (2016-11-14). "Embracing the fintech mentality" (in en). The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/business/embracing-the-fintech-mentality. 
  18. "Committee of Supply (COS) Debates 2017". https://www.smartnation.sg/happenings/speeches/committee-of-supply-cos-debates-2017. 
  19. "DBS's cloud conundrum: A matter of priorities" (in en-US). Enterprise Innovation | Asia's Premier Business and Technology Publication. http://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/dbss-cloud-conundrum-matter-priorities-1368268275. 
  20. "What is the key to building a Fort Knox for the mobile payment space?" (in en-US). e27. https://e27.co/what-is-the-key-to-building-a-fort-knox-for-the-mobile-payment-space-20160204/. 
  21. Inc., V-Key. "ChinaPnR and V-Key Strategic Alliance -- Securing over 1 Million Merchants" (in en). http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chinapnr-and-v-key-strategic-alliance----securing-over-1-million-merchants-253352521.html. 
  22. "Singapore-based V-Key to secure e-commerce transactions on AliExpress" (in en). Channel NewsAsia. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-based-v-key-to-secure-e-commerce-transactions-on/3287134.html. 
  23. "V-Key teams with Ant Financial for mobile payments » Banking Technology" (in en-GB). http://www.bankingtech.com/643252/v-key-teams-with-ant-financial-for-mobile-payments/. 
  24. Choudhury, Amit Roy. "Assurity to offer extra layer of digital protection" (in en). The Business Times. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/technology/assurity-to-offer-extra-layer-of-digital-protection. 
  25. "2012 Winners". http://www.sitfawards.com/cos/o.x?c=/wbn/pagetree&func=view&rid=1193181. 
  26. "2012 Top 100 Global Winners — Red Herring" (in en-US). Red Herring. http://www.redherring.com/events/red-herring-global/2012-top-100-global-winners/. 
  27. "2012 Asia Top 100 — Red Herring" (in en-US). Red Herring. http://www.redherring.com/events/red-herring-asia/2012-asia-top-100/. 
  28. "ASEAN ICT Awards 2016" (in en-gb). http://aseanictaward.com/index.php/component/content/article/13-aicta-winners/40-aicta-2012-winners. 
  29. "Innotribe » 2013 Regional Challenge – APAC" (in en-US). https://innotribe.com/2013-startup-challenge/2013-regional-challenge-apac/. 
  30. "CIO Mobility 20-Friday, February 7, 2014" (in en). http://www.cioreview.com/magazine/CIO-Mobility-20-NDAY297666791.html. 
  31. "National Infocomm Awards 2016". https://portal.imda.gov.sg/Sub/NIA/Current-Winners/Most-Innovative-Use-of-Infocomm-Technology/V-Key-Pte-Ltd. 
  32. "The Asian Banker Technology Awards". http://www.asianbankerawards.com/technology/winnerlist.php.