Cryptomathic Authenticator
Overview
Cryptomathic Authenticator is a server-based strong customer authentication solution designed for banking and payment environments. It combines two-factor authentication with transaction signing capabilities, enabling financial institutions to meet Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements under PSD2 and other regulatory frameworks whilst providing a secure and convenient customer experience.
Unsung implements Cryptomathic Authenticator for UK financial services clients that need to meet SCA requirements, protect high-value transactions, and provide secure authentication across multiple banking channels.
The Challenge
Financial institutions must comply with Strong Customer Authentication requirements that mandate multi-factor authentication for customer access and transaction authorisation. These requirements apply across online banking, mobile banking, and payment channels, creating a need for authentication infrastructure that works consistently across all customer touchpoints.
Implementing SCA in a way that meets regulatory requirements whilst maintaining a smooth customer experience is a significant challenge. Organisations need authentication that is strong enough to satisfy regulatory scrutiny, flexible enough to support multiple channels and devices, and convenient enough that customers do not abandon transactions due to excessive friction.
What It Does
Authenticator provides centralised, server-based authentication that supports multiple factors and channels from a single platform. It combines possession-based, knowledge-based, and biometric authentication factors with transaction signing, enabling organisations to apply appropriate authentication strength to different risk levels.
Transaction signing creates a cryptographic link between the customer’s authentication and the specific transaction details, providing non-repudiation and protection against man-in-the-middle attacks. The platform supports deployment alongside Cryptomathic Signer for environments where both strong authentication and qualified electronic signatures are required, and integrates with Cryptomathic’s MASC for mobile channel security.
How Unsung Helps
Unsung helps financial services clients assess their SCA requirements, design authentication architectures that meet regulatory demands, and implement Cryptomathic Authenticator integrated with their existing banking and payment systems. Our PKI Consultancy service provides guidance on the broader cryptographic and PKI infrastructure that underpins strong authentication services.
Related Unsung Services
PKI Consultancy — Advisory on authentication architecture, SCA compliance, and supporting PKI.
PKI Design & Build — Design and implementation of authentication and identity infrastructure.
Hardware Security Modules — HSM deployment for authentication key protection.
