Malaysian telecom operators have announced plans to create a federated API network service using the GSMA Open Gateway initiative aimed at helping online enterprises against fraud and digital identity theft.
The announcement came on September 23 at the Digital Nation Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where executives from CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Communications detailed their joint effort. Central to the federated API project is the Number Verification API, one of the completed open network APIs under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative and developed using the international Camara standard. The service will enable enterprise developers in industries like banking and e-commerce to authenticate mobile users by correlating phone numbers with live network information, providing a substitute for one-time passwords (OTPs) sent by SMS.
According to CelcomDigi Acting CEO Albern Murty, the collaborative approach marks an important step for the industry. “This is a technological milestone that represents how Malaysia’s operators can collectively lead in shaping a trusted and inclusive digital future,” he said. The initiative means developers can build services compatible with all participating operators while still allowing operators to safeguard their data, policies and revenue. At present, Malaysian operators each provide their own Number Verification API.
Julian Gorman, head of GSMA’s Asia-Pacific operations, commended the move amid growing concerns about cybercrime across the region. “We commend this proactive initiative by Malaysia’s leading operators. By providing banks and online commerce sites with standardized, seamless access to the rich mobile functionality available in networks, we can help accelerate industry’s efforts to tackle online crime,” he noted. The announcement follows a similar measure in Indonesia last week, when Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and XLSmart introduced a unified telco API protocol against fraud and hacking.
The push comes as a new GSMA-commissioned study highlighted rising consumer anxiety over online scams in Southeast Asia. A poll found that 92% of customers have changed their online behavior, typically by turning on two-factor authentication, and 36% indicated that they would switch financial institutions if stronger security built on telecom data was an option. The results highlighted the call for concerted action, calling on governments, banks, operators and technology platforms to converge standards, exchange threat information and broaden awareness campaigns. As Gorman warned, “Our latest data reveals a crisis of confidence. People are changing how they behave online – and in some cases, walking away altogether. Unless we act decisively and together, we risk losing the momentum that digitalization has built across Southeast Asia,”