26 April 2013, 12:15

"Forget passwords!": Google joins FIDO

FIDO logo The FIDO Alliance, an organisation that aims to develop user-friendly password alternatives, has gained PDF several new members and supporters this week. Google, NXP and CrucialTec have joined the Alliance's board of directors, taking seats alongside existing "Board Level" members. Several other companies have joined as sponsors and associate members.

Sam Srinivas, Google's Product Management Director of Information Security, said that Google will continue its work on "universal second-factor tokens" within a new FIDO Alliance working group. Back in January, two Google engineers were shown to be working on a pilot that put passwords out to pasture.

The FIDO Alliance aims to further develop existing, well-established authentication mechanisms. Its work is based on biometric methods such as fingerprint scanners and voice and facial recognition features, as well as existing solutions such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs), USB security tokens, Near Field Communication (NFC), and One-Time Passwords (OTPs).

The FIDO Alliance was founded in July 2012. Among its founder members were Lenovo, Nok Nok Labs, PayPal, Validity and Agnitio. Sponsors now include Infineon Technologies as well as Entersekt and Fingerprint Cards. Allweb Technologies, Check2Protect, Crocus Technology, Diamond Fortress Technologies and Insyndia Global have joined as associate members.