Rivetz Authenticator - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Our team has been working in Trusted Computing and Software Development for decades, Authenticator is the latest in a stream of applications that improve the user experience by implementing our re-engineered security technology, measured computing.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

Storing the Keys in our Measured Computing environment was the hardest part of building Authenticator. Building an application with a security-first mindset proved to be a challenge in architecture design after we got a picture the data flowed within the app, the rest came together like clockwork!

_{Steven Sprague}

Steven is one of the principal industry evangelists for the application of trusted computing technology. Steven served as President and CEO of Wave Systems Corp. for 14 years before transitioning to the board of directors. A popular speaker on cybersecurity and trusted computing, Steven has a strong technical foundation in the principles, capabilities, and business models of incorporating trusted hardware into everyday computing – and is skilled at translating these concepts into layman’s terms.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

I am not sure I have had time lately to enjoy any applications. That said, I do spend a lot of time on Outlook, it is more of a necessary evil than an experience I love. I can't stand most applications, because they are constantly forgetting who I am, on my personal devices. It isn't like I am on a public library computer, why do my apps have to forget who I am?

How long have you been working on this app?

Authenticator is the result of 5 years of development time. Most of which went into developing the measured computing environment that is proprietary to Rivetz. The App itself has been under development for a year or so.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

The goal was to have seed keys that cannot easily be stolen by ripping all the data off a device. A bit of context, a seed key is a secret that allows your phone and Twitter to both come up with the same 6 digit code for you to sign in with. Currently, seed keys for a large portion of 2-factor authentication apps are stored in obscured software or in external hardware (you can lose!). Which can be stolen, copied, and manipulated. Not to mention, if you ever break your phone a large number of the apps available today don't let you back up or recover your keys!

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

My youngest daughter recently lost complete access to her phone, thousands of photos, messages, and keys were lost never to be recovered. My goal with Rivetz is to build software for people, not criminals, mistakes happen we are here to help you when they do. The beauty of Rivetz's Measured Computing Environment is that it allows for humanity within the software, and plays to our strengths, not our weaknesses.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

As you watch our development you will start to see applications come out with automatic enrollment in an account, when you simply pay for something. The act of paying will create an account you can access at any time from any friended device. I leave you with this question, what would a Twitter for devices look like? Where your things can communicate about your status and work together to serve you best. Authenticator is the first step within that, and we will be adding the ability to have a customizable policy surrounding each key. For example, you can only get the code to log in to your company accounts when you are at the office.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

I would love people to share the application by sending messages to their favorite services, telling them to list Rivetz Authenticator as a 2 factor authentication method next to Google Auth and Authy.