HID Global and Microsoft working on FIDO-based solutions

HID Global announced that it is working with Microsoft to provide FIDO open standard solutions that allow users to use smart cards to log into Microsoft Windows and other cloud-based apps and devices, thereby eliminating sole reliance on username and password authentication.

“Working with Microsoft on advancing open standards for identity and access management will put FIDO credentials into different form factors that HID delivers, including a smart card, an app on a phone, a USB dongle or other things,” said Brad Jarvis, Vice President and Managing Director of Identity & Access Management (IAM) Solutions with HID Global. “By being open, FIDO 2.0 can be leveraged to authenticate a wide range of applications that implement the standard and ensure interoperability, which is scalable and the vital ingredient for trusted identities everywhere.”

FIDO 2.0 is an open standard-based, user authentication framework that replaces passwords with advanced FIDO credentials that are designed to more effectively resist and fight off cyber-attacks, including phishing and data breach attacks.

FIDO represents an attractive authentication model that requires cryptographic proof of the nature of the credential while, at the same time, improving usability for users who, prior to this FIDO solution, have had to accept a fragmented experience, logging in multiple times into different things online, such as a bank account or email. It also preserves privacy in a more reliable way that builds trust.

Users can have the convenience of using an HID smart card that contains a FIDO 2.0 credential without doing proprietary work. Microsoft is building the FIDO 2.0 support into Web browsers, cloud applications and Windows itself, broadening the possibilities for more secure authentication at Internet scale.

Microsoft, along with Google recently demonstrated authentication options available in their respective browsers, as well as in other core products based on the FIDO 2.0 standard.

Article Topics

authentication  |  FIDO  |  HID  |  Identity  |  identity access management (IAM)  |  Microsoft