In early April, the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance announced that they have now certified over 150 two-factor authentication and biometric products for replacing static passwords, an increase of 50 percent just in the last quarter. These products meet the group’s specifications under their published Universal Authentication Framework, with several major mobile handset manufacturers and service providers offering FIDO Certified authentication. This does not include Apple and their TouchID fingerprint scanning technology, however.
The FIDO Alliance formed in 2012 and released their standards for stronger authentication at the end of 2014. Focused on proliferating the use of stronger authentication that meets the Alliance’s standard for security and interoperability, members are working on making FIDO Certified forms of authentication available to hundreds of millions of end users, whether coming through traditional eCommerce or mCommerce channels.
