Russian company launches digital ID authentication

MOSCOW: Telecoms operator VEON has launched a digital ID authentication system that Chief Executive Kaan Terzioglu said could rival those used by US technology giants in simplifying mobile logins without sacrificing privacy, a British wire service reported.

The new tool allows users to log into systems like retail or banking websites using their phone numbers and one-time password authentication, rather than using separate passwords, or those attached to existing domains like Google or Facebook.

Veon wants to roll out the system to its 212 million customers in nine countries following a nine-month trial with over 1.2 million monthly active users in its main market, Russia, he said.

Terzioglu told Reuters Veon's system was a simpler alternative to those offered by the likes of Alphabet's Google and Facebook. "We had this unique opportunity to simplify all these interactions by allowing people just to use their telephone numbers and we tokenise the credentials including certain personal information which it is not necessarily desirable to share with everyone," Terzioglu said in an interview.

Foreign tech companies have come under increasing pressure from the Russian government over the content shared on their platforms, along with demands they set up offices on Russian soil.