Telefónica Tech, Telefónica’s digital business unit, and VU, a cybersecurity company with expertise in digital fraud and user identity protection, have signed a collaboration agreement and launched the global Access & Authentication service to protect organisations from theft or misuse of corporate credentials through Zero-Trust mechanisms based on adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication and biometric facial and voice recognition systems.

The Access & Authentication service, based on VU technology, offers an extra layer of security in authentication processes, while simplifying them through its Single Sign-on capabilities. In addition, it has the ability to integrate the Active Directory tool, both for user management and for access control to the solution’s own administration BackOffice.

Access & Authentication allows VU technology to be incorporated into any corporate resource, including VPNs, Intranets, applications and Office 365, using the most recognised integrations and protocols in the market, such as SAML2, OIDC, Radius, API and App.

The new Telefónica Tech and VU service is characterised by:

Zero-Trust security for cloud, hybrid or on-premise environments. Multi-factor authentication ensures that the legitimate owner of the credentials is the entity accessing the system.

It improves the authentication process experience thanks to the Single Sign-on and identity federation functionality. In a single step, users can be authenticated in different applications and corporate systems.

Offered in SaaS mode, it allows an easy and simple deployment and integration with a minimum impact on the daily operation of the organisation.

Scalability. Access & Authentication is designed to be the cornerstone from which to build your identity and access management strategy.

Telefónica Tech’s seal of guarantee. This new service will be monitored 24 hours a day, every day of the year from Telefónica Tech’s global network of SOCs.

María Jesús Almazor, CEO of Cybersecurity and Cloud at Telefónica Tech, assures that “protection against the theft of corporate credentials is one of the main challenges facing cybersecurity in digital transformation processes. The Access & Authentication service, which we are launching with the technology of our partner VU, will allow organisations to solve this problem by offering access management with Zero-Trust security measures, through the use of advanced, granular and scalable multi-factor authentication systems”.

Sebastián Stranieri, CEO of VU, says: “We are pleased to have Telefónica Tech again as a strategic partner for our development in the region. I am confident that Spanish companies will soon be able to benefit from the next level of cyber security that VU wants to bring to them”.

The launch of Access & Authentication consolidates the existing collaborative relationship between the two companies, which will continue with the development of other joint services linked to identity management and biometric authentication.

Wayra Hispam, Telefónica’s open innovation hub in Latam, has participated in VU’s latest $12 million investment round. VU has been one of the cybersecurity companies chosen for its great disruptive potential for the defence of any organisation, regardless of its size and the nature of the asset to be protected.