TeleSign is yet another example of an organization that has unified business and information technology decision-making.

“Who owns it, what kind of phone it is (land line, mobile, VOIP, etc), how long they’ve had it, where they get their service, and which companies and apps they’re attached to” are information TeleSign is able to gather when it has access to any individual’s phone number via its clients. TeleSign leverages this information to “score” the individual to determine whether or not he/she will pass the identity test; which in turn decides whether or not he/she will be offered a service by TeleSign’s client.

The TeleSign Rating System

This practise has been put in place to prevent frauds related to electronic transactions. However, is it ethical? If our phone number truly becomes the authenticator of identity in the future, privacy, if it isn’t already, will become an issue.

From an organization’s perspective, Management Information Systems is an excellent method and platform for getting to know a little bit more about consumers. Though as a consumer, I personally would like to have the right to keep my identity protected.

Article from: <http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/13/your-phone-number-is-going-to-be-scored/?utm_campaign=forbestwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social>

Image from: <http://www.impermium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/telesign1.png>