Glide.id, a digital identity security startup, has launched a public beta with full US coverage and commercial availability of MagicalAuth — cryptographic authentication now live across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon on both iOS and Android. The three largest US carriers are aligning around a hardware-rooted cryptographic trust anchor, moving beyond SMS one-time passwords.

Here's how it works: every SIM card carries a carrier-issued cryptographic key. During login, MagicalAuth issues a mathematical challenge that can only be solved using that key — no passwords, no codes, no extra apps. It's the same principle used in chip-based payment cards, applied at network level.

The timing is pointed: US consumers lost $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, up from just over $12 billion the prior year. Deepfakes, voice cloning, SIM swap attacks and AI-powered social engineering have outpaced the six-digit SMS code. "SMS OTPs were never designed to withstand AI," said founder and CEO Eran Haggiag. "The fix was already built into every SIM card; we just had to turn it on." Account takeover fraud now accounts for nearly a third of reported business fraud losses in the US.

MagicalAuth is already integrated with carriers in Germany, the UK and Spain, with Canada and further markets planned in 2026. The company frames the launch as building "the identity layer for the AGI era" — SIM-anchored, phishing-resistant authentication for humans and AI agents alike.

Sources