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Interview of CHARLY ROHART, General Manager of RCDEVS

The SESAMES Awards Ceremony took place this 5th November 2012 at the Westin Hotel, close to the famous “Place de la Concorde” in Paris. The ceremony was animated by Alex Taylor and introduced by Isabelle Alfano, Exhibition Director.

CARTES is pleased to present an exclusive interview of M. Charly Rohart, General Manager of RCDEVS and lucky prize winner of the “Discovery” category of the SESAMES Awards. 


Bonjour Monsieur Charly Rohart, thank you so much for accepting this interview, just after receiving a 2012 SESAMES Award, and please receive our warmest congratulations.


INTRODUCTION

CARTES: We would like to know your first feelings and thoughts after receiving this prestigious award?

Charly Rohart: I come from a small French town and have been managing a very young start-up that develops software and architecture solutions for Internet for only two years. Coming to Paris and receiving such a prestigious award in a competition in which major key industrials participate is just fantastic and unbelievable.

This award will help us build our brand awareness and improve our reputation. Up until now, key accounts were looking at our solutions with interest but were still hesitating in dealing with us.

This award will accelerate our development for sure. Most SMEs in France do not participate in major competitions like the SESAMES Awards because they are convinced that they don’t stand a chance in front of well known industrials.


STRATEGY

CARTES: Your company was created in 2010 and is based in Yutz, a village where people are called “yussois” near Metz. Could you say a few words about Yutz and the specificities of the region? How many people work in the company today?

Charly Rohart: We are based in “Yutz” because it is where the adventure took off. We are 4 engineers involved in this project. Yutz is a strategic because it's very close to our Luxemburg prospects and customers from the financial market. Three of us develop the solutions and the last one sells them.

CARTES: We saw on your Linkedin profile that you were looking for partners to develop the company. What sort of partners?

Charly Rohart:  You are well informed and we are looking for integrators and commercial retailers in order to accelerate the deployment of our solutions in the financial institution and SME markets.

We have been approached by American companies interested in authentication issue solutions for their end-users.
 

PRODUCT POSITIONING

CARTES: Your product called “OPEN OTP / TiQR” server addresses strong authentication / identification solutions on Internet environment for mobile security questions. Who are your present customers (Telco, banks, PSP, etc.)?

Charly Rohart:  Our solutions were downloaded for free during the last two years. Small and medium companies are using them on a restricted registration user mode as they are adapted for almost all types of environments. We have integrated forty customers in our platform but for security reasons, our customers do not allow us to communicate their names.

CARTES: As you know, one of the main questions on Internet security is the customer’s enrollment process. Could you explain how your architecture solution covers this feature? Who’s playing the third trust party in case of claims from customers (end users)?

Charly Rohart:  The enrollment is a critical phase in security. We use tokens and QR codes that are adapted solutions for mobile environments and easy to deploy on a mass market. Our customers have the choice to handle our solutions in their own environment or to let us manage the solutions from our platform. The platform has been audited and passed the security issue tests.

CARTES: Your solution supports various devices (mobile phones, Tablet PC, PC, etc..) in several environments (Java, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android, etc.) using tokens and QR codes. Do you believe it is the right time for the market in France and worldwide to deploy mobile payments with strong authentication solutions?

Charly Rohart:
Every year, industrials try to influence the market this way. In fact, key accounts are more and more concerned by security issues and deployment of authentication solutions for their customers as they are often attacked by hackers. Most of the SMEs that downloaded our solutions for free did it for this main reason. Another aspect of the question is the development of mobile applications. Players need security in order to preserve the integrity of their systems and stay credible.

CARTES: Do you plan on extending your sales’ strategy in Europe or U.S.A for instance with a local partnership or directly?

Charly Rohart:  We are too small to face the market outside France, which is why we are looking for integrators and retailers. However, our customers are in Europe today and tomorrow they will be in USA and Asia.

CARTES: For those who would like to see a product demonstration, will you be present during the three days at CARTES 2012?

Charly Rohart: We are not present with a booth this year but I will stay until Wednesday in Paris. Next year, we will be present for the three days.  Our website provides information on our solutions.

In the name of CARTES 2012 we thank you very much for this exclusive interview and wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Payments Ecosystem Expansion

“Traditional players tend to be fast followers or slow followers as opposed to inventing something new and driving it,” says Drew Luca, a Principal in PWC’s Banking Strategy Technology and Operations practice and co-leader of PwC’s U.S. Payments Practice. He notes that the up-and-comers are the ones creating new ways of doing things in payments.

Kathleen McDowell, a director in PwC's Financial Services Payments Advisory Practice, says that technology is driving the innovation. Social commerce has fundamentally changed consumer behavior, even in terms of payments.

These phenomena are creating the opportunity for disintermediation of traditional players in the payments arena.

In Luca’s opinion, traditional players are going to struggle to move fast enough to remain relevant. “They’re at an inflection point, which says they either have to determine that they’re going to become much more innovative and much more rapid than they historically have moved,” he notes.

He believes that the idea of being able to plan for a long horizon is what will cause the traditionals to struggle to remain relevant. “If they can’t, they likely will be relegated to utility status, which is not what they want to be,” Luca says.

Both McDowell and Luca caution traditional players to be careful, and to continue to leverage an important competitive advantage they hold: trust.

“A lot of their brands and success is trust and reliability,” he says. “Treating the emerging the same as the core business, it’s a recipe for failure and disintermediation. Having the ability to move faster and be innovative and relevant while still maintaining reliability and trust is a big component.”

“You have to innovate but if you move too quickly or recklessly, you’re losing your competitive advantage,” echos McDowell. “People still look at the traditional players as a secure way to transact.”

Among the macro trends in payments is in R&D. While innovation used to be corporate driven and top down, it now is bottom up, and is driven by consumers.

McDowell notes that traditional players must figure out how to find social advocates, how to engage with consumers where they want to, and who their partners should be.

Traditional players and some new up and comers will convene at CARTES 2012, Paris, Nov. 6-8.

SourceMedia

 

Interview of Oyvind Rastad, Chairman of Eurosmart

“The expansion of smart security markets gives rise to new challenges, but especially new opportunitites.”

During the last few years, we’ve seen the frontiers of the Smart Security industry expanding to larger countries or continents: IoT, M2M, Cloud Computing, Mobile Security as a whole, and not just limited to SIM card, etc. Is this evolution raising new issues and challenges for Eurosmart?

Indeed, challenges, but especially opportunities to “advocate the use of Smart Security Devices, solutions and services to enhance the usability of digital services while protecting privacy and combatting fraud”. In our digital society, securing digital information and transactions is becoming an important and growing challenge for governments, businesses and individuals alike. But these challenges are matched by the degree of opportunity. The recent proposal from the European Commission for a regulation on e-Identification, e-Authentication and e-Signatures is another step forward towards removing existing barriers to Europe’s digital development, but Eurosmart stresses the vital nature of making smart secure devices a mandatory part of this regulation. This was highly successful for mobile telephony and for road safety with the tachograph systems deployment. It must be done again for electronic signature with e-Identification and eAuthentication. Our industry’s mission is to leverage our experience and expertise of over 20 years in security in order to respond to the needs of new sectors. In the mobile domain, for example,
we are already “beyond UICC,” with an offering that has expanded around the more generic concept of the secure element, along with that now of the TEE (Trusted Executive Environment), which allows for securing the keyboard and screen of the mobile, and is highly complementary to those features offered by the secure element.

Download the complete interview of Oyvind Rastad, Eurosmart

Yvon Avenel, Smart Cards Trends (July 2012)

Security in the Cloud

 

 

Olivier Caleff is chair of the Security in the Cloud track at CARTES 2012, Paris, Nov. 6-8. As a co-founder of the French Chapter of the Cloud Security Alliance, Caleff talked with SourceMedia in anticipation of the conference.

 

What is the most important thing for CARTES attendees to know about cloud computing?

The crucial role played by authentication. It’s the main security service that prevents a prying eye from accessing someone else’s cloud environment and using the information.

You must establish a high level of trust and use an authentication strength that matches the classification of the assets to be accessed. Additional recommended services are authorization and logging, for log analysis.

Do cloud computing’s benefits really outweigh the risks?

Well, you‘d rather ask this question to risk managers. They are in a position to assess and balance the risks. The Cloud Security Alliance provides methodologies and checklists to support this type of work.

Risk managers assess the type of use and solutions that can be used or built on the cloud, and whether it’s appropriate to its requirements for IT services and application environment. There’s no generic rule of thumb: all industries and companies are different.

What is your advice to those considering cloud computing?

Be aware that although cloud computing and outsourcing are closely related, there are some differences. The dynamics in the business relationship change, giving greater control to the cloud service provider. When companies outsource IT, a contract is established between the customer and the supplier, every detail being spelt out.

With cloud solutions, providers do not wish customize their offerings. The vision from key players is to offer generic types of service to all customers. 

As a CSIRT Manager of CERT DEVOTEAM, I would also recommend to be prepared to handle incidents a different way. You must anticipate and establish procedures with your provider(s), and take into account cloud-specific issues.

What are the most common mistakes of cloud computing?

Companies considering cloud computing must weigh the pros and cons. If you just consider the price and scalability benefits and all the bells and whistles that go with them, added capabilities… on paper everything looks nice. But you must balance that with security, including availability and compliance to regulations and other criteria.

Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all other forms of computing.

 SourceMedia

Interview of Sirpa Nordlund, Executive Director of Mobey Forum

Sirpa Nordlund, Executive Director of Mobey Forum, discusses the launch of the association’s latest white paper, plans for CARTES and the organisation’s current work focus.

90 Seconds @ CARTES: biggest innovation in 25 years

As CARTES & IDentification has been celebrating its 25th Years (you might have heard about it...;-) Video crew went through the aisles of the exhibit asking visitors what they have considered the most marking these last 25 years. Innovations are numerous but which will everyone pick? Thanks to an increasing good network, more Internet capacity, smaller, more powerful and secure technologies to be embedded in any devices, etc. a new generation of users have appeared. Millenials, Digital Natives... what will they select among all that has been created through the years? Do you want to make bets?

What is the biggest innovation that stands out in 25 years of CARTES?

Choose your answer: 

• the smartcard itself!
• contactless and NFC
• ID card or passport with a chip integrated 
• more mobile phones and less terminals more convenient
• addition of Champagne in the VIP suite 
• other? 

Discover video here: 

 

90 Seconds @ CARTES 2010: Luxury Cards

During CARTES & IDentification 2010, a few visitors where interviewed about the Luxury Cards. How does one view such cards encrusted with Diamonds, covered with precious stones, etc. ? Most responses where accompanied by good humoured remarks. Is it about the card or about what you can do with it? Whatever one thinks of it, let's grant that it does bring laughs! Keep in mind Diamonds are women's best friend! So isn't this more about doing a nice gesture granting a symbolic gift and highlighting how cards have now reached an entire new level?!  

Is there a market for luxury cards encrusted with diamonds?

Discover the video below. 

 

90 Seconds @ CARTES2010: Favourite M2M App

During CARTES 2010, a few visitors were interviewed. Discover the video below.

What is your favourite machine-to-machine application?

What is your favourite machine-to-machine application? "That is a hard one!" Admits interviewee. Though M2M applications are progressively entering our day to day life, it seems not everyone has ceased its range of opportunities. Mobile phones are definitely considered as one key component of M2M for transportation, Cars are sometimes also mentioned for their capacity to inform on house security (for instance) but what else? Electric meters exchanging data with Internet and servers for energy saving, Water meters doing the same to manage consumption, Domotics in general with a house communicating to your mobile or laptop, Food RFID tags communicating to the fridge when they are not good anymore... There are no limits really to what can communicate in the M2M World except one's imagination. How about you? 

We're taking free ideas... As one of the interviewee said! 

M2M aka The Internet of Things - see several posts on this topic published before

 

90 Second: Roving for NFC

Another glimpse on what took place during CARTES & IDentification with videos that covered the event. This time dedicated to NFC (Near Field Communication)

Memories 4 Ever: Eternity is a few files away

Young Luca Boschin has elaborated an entirely new and SciFi concept that will shake your minds. This young COO (in his 20's) from SwissDNABank will be promoting his new revolutionary service within a month. In direct line with the Social Networks trends to share and store information on oneself, this is the opportunity to store your entire life (DNA and memories) forever. 

Very simple, you access to your files by a Web connection with a security password and a strong card authentication system with encryptors. Then, as simple as Facebook, add any files, manage information and select authorization processes for people to access to them if you desire. 

YOUR ENTIRE HERITAGE 

Reach Eternity. Your heirs can go through the love letters you have written to your life, discover videos you have stored, get information on your own personal diary detailed and browse through your life. You can control when and how they can access to your information in the present or future. They can even get access to your Facebook, Paypal, Gmail accounts... Not only can you thus share your memories as much as you can dream of but also can you store important administrative or medical information with as much security as you can desire. You've broken your hand and have a scanner, you can associate it to a moment in your life with insurance file, medical details... Furthermore, this system can save for you very complex security access codes. So, all personal applications you wish to strongly protect you can create long passwords you won't be worried to forget. 

KEEPING YOUR DNA SAFE AND STORING IT 

"Normally, when you disappear, your DNA disappears with you. Why shall you leave this that way? keep your DNA safe and store it."

Nothing more simple, get some saliva and part of the cells on the inside of your cheek and send it to SwissDNABank. They'll store information for future medical use. But let's imagine your grand grand grand grand child sends his own DNA sample and it matches yours, then he can be granted access to your data (if you have agreed of such measures). No genealogic tree needed anymore, incredible knowledge on your ancestors... So now, you believe this is Minority Report, the Island, ... all in once. Well, Science fiction is always a kind of wild forecast of the future so now, present is getting wild, isn't it?!

HOW PEOPLE TAKE IT SO FAR 

When asked how this new incredible service has been welcomed by people, Luca Boschin comments only security is their worry for such important data. But then, you get the promise of the higher possible security to protect what makes you the individual complex being you are; all your data is stored underneath a mountain in a location you could consider as a Swiss Fort Knox with heavy physical and electronical IT Security systems in a neutral country. 

More about the concept in SwissDNABank own words:

Concept is simple: "Your memories are your most valuable asset. It takes a lifetime to build them. Secure your personal knowledge, your life experiences, your documents, your pictures in a safe Swiss vault where they will be preserved forever. Make your memories live forever. (...) Forever Account is your personal and secure on-line Swiss DNA Bank account. Here you can forever store in Switzerland your lifetime experiences and memories. Accessible from anywhere in the world, its dynamic architecture allows you to reach any moment of your life in just a few clicks. It enables you to forever store personal information and share your life experience with future generations. Also, it allows you to selectively make events public at a specific date in the future with a unique time capsule effect. A bank level security system guarantees the privacy of your precious memories. (...) Storing your DNA with your memories gives you the added assurance of having actually stored your person as a whole, securely and forever.
DNA is one of the most stable molecules in nature and is the recipe of your body.
Your DNA sample will be hosted in our nuclear-proof shelters in a secure location in Switzerland."

To discover their video, click here. 

To access to their website, click here.