The largest oracle network in the blockchain ecosystem, Chainlink, and one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, Telefónica, have partnered to improve connectivity on Web3 and mitigate the risks of SIM card spoofing, a fraud known as SIM swapping.
The agreement reached between both projects seeks to reinforce security in the Web3 ecosystem, introducing the capabilities of telcos into the world of blockchain.
Telefónica, which is currently the largest telecommunications company in Spain, indicated in a release that will take advantage of the advantages offered by the Web3 connectivity solution, Chainlink Functions, to connect any Telefónica GSMA Open Gateway API, securely, to the Polygon Network.
GSMA Open Gateway is a common framework that allows developers to access mobile network information and data in real time, to facilitate the creation of applications and other digital solutions.
By integrating with Chainlink's on-chain oracle network, these standardized APIs will bring the pioneering capabilities of the telecommunications industry to the Web3 ecosystem, according to Telefónica.
Connectivity and security in Web3
The pioneering initiative of Chainlink and Telefónica will be implemented, initially, by the operator Claro, which belongs to the telecommunications company, in Brazil.
According to the company, the integration of Chainlink Functions and the GSMA Open Gateway APIs will not only help to reinforce security, in general, in operations in the Web3 space. Specifically, these APIs will introduce an additional layer of security to the blockchain ecosystem, allowing smart contracts on the chain to perform requests for information to the APIs, with the purpose of check and ensure that SIM cards have not been modified. With this, the company wants to help reinforce the security of the Web3 ecosystem, minimizing the risks of SIM spoofing.
SIM duplication or SIM swapping is a social engineering attack that is becoming popular in the Web3 environment. In fact, in September of last year, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, was a victim of this fraud.
Buterin's account on platform X (formerly Twitter) was hacked, due to a SIM swapping attack. On the decentralized social network Farcaster, Buterin confirmed that his X account was compromised after a hacker managed to take control over his phone number.
During the hack, the scammer posted a fake NFT promotion from Buterin's official account, in which several users were unfortunately scammed. For this reason, through the use of the GSMA Open Gateway API, Chainlink and Telefónica focus on guaranteeing the security of transactions in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and decentralized applications, addressing two-factor authentication (2FA) and fraud detection.
New use cases for the blockchain industry
In addition to offering a higher level of security, Johann Eid, commercial director of Chainlink Labs, highlighted that the integration of the blockchain project with Telefónica will open the doors to new use cases for the crypto industry. According to Eid this will ultimately also contribute to better protecting users and their digital assets.
On the other hand, Yaiza Rubio, Chief Metaverse Officer of Telefónica, stated that the recent agreement reached with Chainlink reinforces Telefónica's leadership position in the Web3 industry. “It positions us as enablers of Web3 and will allow us to accompany developers towards the web of the future,” commented Rubio.
In addition to the alliance with Telefónica, in September 2023, Chainlink joined Vodafone, another important telecommunications service provider in Europe. This association seeks to improve the exchange of commercial documents, facilitating more fluid and secure communication between companies and platforms through blockchain technology.
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Main image from Telefónica
