Major carriers team up to strengthen mobile authentication

Whether it's managing what services can use your Google data, using encrypted messaging apps or just having a stronger password than "password," there are many ways to keep your information secure on the go.

To help with that effort, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile announced a collaboration today to work towards a new method of mobile authentication.

Dubbed the Mobile Authentication Taskforce, the combined effort hopes to develop a new solution for both users and companies that can better ensure that people using personal information on mobile devices are who they say they are.

While the four carriers are still in the resource planning process, some potential ideas for how the new authentication standard might work could involve using cellular networks, geo-location or recognizing SIM cards.

The team-up expects to have a new solution planned sometime next year — though given yesterday's news that a data breach at credit reporting firm Equifax may have compromised the data of over 143 million people, we imagine those worried about identity theft may not want to wait that long.

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