Equifax Expands Identity Efforts, Capabilities In 2010

ATLANTA, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), an innovator and leader in identity proofing, significantly broadened its capabilities in 2010 with several major initiatives including offering a single, integrated platform for identity proofing and multifactor authentication making on-line transactions even more secure for the entire customer life cycle.

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In 2010, Equifax released a suite of fraud mitigation solutions to help businesses more effectively combat identity fraud.  This family of solutions is driven by a patented real-time identity verification and authentication tool that provides automated, non-intrusive protection using unique and comprehensive statistical fraud models and adaptive quiz capabilities.  Equifax's identity solutions have been deployed by thousands of customers, including 38 of the top 50 banks and all the major telecommunications companies.  

In addition, the year was capped by the acquisition of Anakam, a leader in multi-factor authentication, identity proofing, and user verification technologies.  Anakam won multiple awards and recognitions in 2010 including being named in Top 100 Health Care Vendors by CRN, winning in the Software category in TechAmerica's 17th Annual High Tech Awards, finishing as a finalist in Authentication category in GSN's Homeland Security Award, winning the Network Products Guide's Reader Trust Award for Best in Authentication, and being listed at #3 in the Top 10 Security Products for Healthcare by Channel Web.

Equifax and Anakam started 2010 partnering on the innovative Equifax I-Card, making the Equifax I-Card the first to have the highest level of authentication security (Level 3) in the marketplace.  With Anakam Identity Services, Equifax offers global customers a comprehensive policy-based platform that establishes trust and alleviates risk, without the use of tokens, as enterprises move manual business processes online and into public and private cloud environments.  

In June, Anakam Identity Services implemented cutting-edge third-party factor voice biometric authentication solutions for customers that needed to confirm the identity of remote employees through both phone and Web transactions.  This highly-sensitive biometric authentication has been effectively used in situations where fingerprint readers or similar tools are too expensive or impractical.

To accommodate organizations with existing token usage, Anakam's fourth generation software introduced the option to maintain legacy tokens through an OATH-compliant server.  This version also integrated a series of market-facing enhancements for all authentication methods including provisioning database independence, and expanded support for multi-lingual users and international mobile devices.

Moving into 2011, the combination of Anakam award-winning software with Equifax's solution offerings and pedigree in online risk management will provide customers a unique and strategic partner that can work with them to move more high value transactions on-line with the assurance that these interactions are safe and secure.  

About Equifax (www.equifax.com)

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability.  Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more.  We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 15 other countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

SOURCE Equifax Inc.