New Partnership Enables Advanced Hardware Protections for Secure Digital Identity in the Telefónica ecosystem and beyond

San Francisco, CA – October 30, 2018 – Civic, the global digital identity leader, today announced it will join Rivetz, an industry leader in decentralized hardware-based cybersecurity, in their partnership with Telefónica’s cybersecurity unit, ElevenPaths, to offer next-generation identity solutions powered by blockchain.

Digital identity is a cornerstone for the growing decentralized economy. Civic provides convenient, user-friendly identity solutions, which will integrate with the advanced cybersecurity architecture developed by Rivetz and Telefónica. This partnership will enable billions of mobile users to have a digital identity that they control and that simplifies access to global services.

“The ability to prove who you are is a fundamental human need. Our partnership with Rivetz and ElevenPaths is a massive step in putting an uncomplicated digital identity solution in the hands of mobile users, who then call the shots,” said Vinny Lingham, CEO and Co-Founder of Civic. “The concept of identity is rapidly changing, and we look forward to a revolutionary partnership that makes sharing and verifying identity safe and seamless.”

With Dual Roots of Trust cryptography, a user’s private key will be distributed between two independent roots of trust, or operating systems: the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and the carrier subscriber identity module (SIM). The solution provides an additional layer of protection for private keys even if one of the systems is compromised. With Civic, personal information is stored locally on a mobile device, protected by biometrics and high-level encryption. This integration will enable Civic to separate locally stored personal information from the user’s private key, adding an extra layer of protection.

“We are pleased to have Civic as part of the project to bring blockchain-powered identity verification services to the consumer,” said Steven Sprague, CEO of Rivetz. “The integration of built-in security and digital identity will offer a simple yet powerful new capability for users.” “Trusted computing technologies are not an end by themselves, but are an opportunity to improve mobile users’ security, providing a research and innovation framework in the context of cybersecurity”, said Pedro Pablo Pérez, Telefónica Global Security VP & ElevenPaths CEO.

Rivetz’s best-in-class security solutions hinge upon access to the TEE, which is an isolated, measured computer environment separate from the device’s operating system. By provisioning all digital transactions through the TEE, Rivetz assures that users’ private keys cannot be altered or stolen if the operating system is tampered with or infected by malware.