Virtual sim-cards on blockchain to battle identity theft

Virtual sim-cards build on blockchain technology will soon replace the physical sim-cards in your smartphone. Telecom company Verizon got a patent for using virtual subscriber identity modules (vSIM) in smartphones. This ensures more security and makes sure there's only one copy of the vSIM on one device at any time.

Verizon is one of many telecom providers that has had problems with identity theft. Criminals have been able to take over sim-cards of their clients by faking their identity in a phone call. The hackers would request a new sim-card, gain control over a phone number, and then circumvent 2-step authentication on email accounts, crypto exchange logins and so on.

For any device connected to the blockchain network, there will be a vSIM certificate. This certificate also includes an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). The vSIM can be retrieved and used by any of the different devices associated with the user account, but only one device at the time. This means the vSIM can be transferred to other devices or temporarily assigned to other users. People will need an unique authentication code for this.

Virtual SIM-cards to stop SIM-swapping

This new blockchain solution is supposedly a solution to stop the act of SIM-swapping. Earlier this year SIM-swapping hit the news when a customer at telecom provider AT&T lost more than 621 thousand dollars worth of cryptocurrencies. Two T-Mobile customers have claimed to have lost 400 thousand and 250 thousand dollars. The court in Boston sentenced a 21-year old student to ten years of jail-time for hacking SIM-cards and stealing $7.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

Telecom companies are in blockchain technology. For example A1 from Austria has started to accept cryptocurrency payments in a couple of its stores. Austrian consumers can pay their bills using bitcoin, litecoin, dash, ethereum, XRP and stellar. In addition Tech Mahindra from India is implementing a blockchain-powered anti-spam solution. And last but not least, China Telecom has released its plans for the future of telecommunication by publishing a whitepaper on blockchain-powered smartphones.