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Telefónica, Spain’s largest telco company, has integrated Chainlink in a collaboration aimed at helping smart contracts combat unauthorized SIM swaps.
The strategic alliance will see Telefónica leverage Chainlink Functions to securely connect any API with the GSMA Open Gateway on Polygon mainnet, the companies said in a press release.
“This collaboration marks a significant step in integrating Telco capabilities into the blockchain industry and demonstrates the need for secure oracle networks to deliver real-world data on-chain,” reads part of the release.
Combating SIM swap attacks
With this alliance, the multinational telco will be able to undertake data verification from across the market using Chainlink’s oracle technology, with smart contract requests to APIs verified to prevent unauthorised SIM card changes.
Early this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fell victim to a SIM swap attack, with the hackers accessing the agency’s X account to issue a “fake” spot Bitcoin ETF approval. The price of Bitcoin swung sharply on the turn of events, with the SEC under fire for its account’s disabled two-factor authentication (2FA).
According to Telefónica, “using the GSMA Open Gateway API via Chainlink also mitigates risk beyond transaction security, addressing two-factor authentication (2FA) and fraud detection in Web3 dApps and DeFi services.”
Johann Eid, Chief Business Officer at Chainlink Labs, noted:
“Bringing Telefónica’s OpenGateway APIs on-chain with Chainlink Functions unlocks novel use cases and greater security for our industry that ultimately better protect users and their assets. We’re excited to bring Chainlink and major telecoms like Telefónica together to further the vision of a verifiable web where users remain in control.”
Telefónica’s latest crypto related integration follows the company’s support for crypto payments on Tu, the telco giant’s online marketplace, in 2022. The company has also partnered with Helium, tapping into the blockchain platform’s technology to enhance its telecommunications coverage in Mexico.
The company also recently added four collections to its NFT marketplace, and partnered with CrowdStrike to enhance customer protection against device breaches. The collaboration announced last week also targets safeguarding customers across digital assets.
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