An industry consortium that aims to establish online standards for two-factor and biometric authentication has released the first draft of its technical specifications.
The Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance published a draft of its technical document on 11 February to allow nonmember companies to check out the specifications and develop products without actually joining the alliance. The FIDO Alliance aims to establish a common way for products and service providers to exchange authentication information, allowing customers to use a smartphone, USB token or some other device as security token.
If developers widely adopt the specification, it could allow consumers and workers to reduce their reliance on passwords, Phil Dunkelberger, chief executive of Nok Nok Labs, an authentication provider and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, told eWEEK. A biometric, such as a picture or a thumbprint, could be used instead of a username-password combination, or a device or code could be added to a username and password to make the combination more secure.
“The specification is designed to allow you to use whatever you have in your hand as a second factor of authentication,” Dunkelberger said. “It allows you to use something you already have without forcing you to use something new.”