Swisscom is launching voice recognition security software for its call centre enquiries.
Voiceprint will be introduced from the beginning of August. It is already used in the banking sector by companies such as Barclays and First Bank.
The Swiss operator said it was responding to the increasing ease with which hackers can access personal data on the internet and pass themselves off as other people.
Voiceprint uses voice recognition security software to identify a customer and removes the need for security questions. The software measures different voice characteristics, such as frequency, speed, pronunciation and accent.
Once these have been recorded, the software develops a unique “voiceprint” that cannot be imitated.
Swisscom said conversations will not be stored and customers can opt out of the service and revert to traditional security questions if they wish.
Pascal Jaggi, Head of Customer Care at Swisscom, said: “With Voiceprint, we are offering our customers on the hotline the leading edge security standard and in this way we can protect their sensitive data even better.”
Operators are increasingly concentrating on how best to defend their networks against security risks. In April, BT said it was recruiting 900 security specialists during 2016 as it looked to tighten up its networks.
Just under a quarter of the staff are graduates and apprentices, who have been trained in physical security, penetration testing, threat intelligence, risk management, and sales.
Deutsche Telekom has warned that networks need to be aware of the dangers to newly created Internet of Things networks as well. It recommended device manufacturers build security into products from the off.