Fujitsu’s technology uses biometric authentication to grant access to cloud services via IoT devices

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has developed a new technology that provides secure and seamless access to cloud services through IoT devices using a smartphone’s biometric authentication functionality and near-field wireless functionality.

By leveraging FIDO technology which authenticates a cloud service’s user without collecting biometric information from their smartphone, Fujitsu’s new technology creates a secure network between a cloud service, an IoT device, and a smartphone, while verifying the user’s identity.

As a result, users can securely and conveniently access cloud services via a range of IoT devices without having to enter an ID and password. Instead, they can simply use their smartphone’s biometric authentication function.

Fujitsu’s technology also provides a secure personal authentication service using biometrics without requiring service providers to manage the user’s biometric information for each device or service.

Users move their smartphone in close proximity to the IoT device, enabling the two devices to temporarily exchange private information with each other.

By leveraging their smartphone’s biometric authentication functionality, users are able to complete the authentication process.

This generates a certificate that verifies the results of the biometric authentication and the fact that the user is actually in front of the device.

The IoT device then sends the information using the FIDO protocol to the cloud service, and grants the user access to the service.

The technology can be used for a range of services which require user authentication for IoT devices, such as parcel delivery lockers and access into high-security areas.

The new technology will be available for commercial use at some point later this year. It will expand on Fujitsu’s new FIDO-compliant online biometric authentication service, which will initially roll out in Japan in early April 2017.

Fujitsu will be showcasing the technology at the retail information systems trade show Retailtech Japan, held March 7 to 10.

Article Topics

access control  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  Cloud  |  Fujitsu  |  IoT