Biometrics and Multifactor Authentication: Here Comes FIDO!
We have long heard the promise of no more passwords. Microsoft is once again saying the beginning of the end of password-based authentication will arrive in early 2019, thanks to the recent completion of the Fast Online Identity 2.0 specs.
“There will be no reason why you should need to use a password with any Microsoft connected application ever again,” said Alex Simmons, VP of program management within Microsoft’s identity technology group.
Support for FIDO 2.0 in the latest release of Windows Hello for Business and third-party multifactor authentication tools from the likes of new YubiKeys from Yubico promise to facilitate this transition. Another key factor is Microsoft’s newest update to its Authenticator app, which replaces the password by implementing multifactor authentication to sign in to multiple apps by combining a fingerprint, facial recognition or a PIN. A setting can require that a user is logged only if their phone is nearby (via Bluetooth or NFC connection). Microsoft claims that MFA can reduce the risk of a password compromise by 99.9 percent.
Google, also a founding FIDO supporter, is a bullish proponent of the demise of passwords. The company’s recently launched Titan Security Key is a USB key that supporst Bluetooth and NFC. Google also recently launched MFA access to G Suite and Google Cloud with the new key.
We have long heard the promise of no more passwords. Microsoft is once again saying the beginning of the end of password-based authentication will arrive in early 2019, thanks to the recent completion of the Fast Online Identity 2.0 specs.
“There will be no reason why you should need to use a password with any Microsoft connected application ever again,” said Alex Simmons, VP of program management within Microsoft’s identity technology group.
Support for FIDO 2.0 in the latest release of Windows Hello for Business and third-party multifactor authentication tools from the likes of new YubiKeys from Yubico promise to facilitate this transition. Another key factor is Microsoft’s newest update to its Authenticator app, which replaces the password by implementing multifactor authentication to sign in to multiple apps by combining a fingerprint, facial recognition or a PIN. A setting can require that a user is logged only if their phone is nearby (via Bluetooth or NFC connection). Microsoft claims that MFA can reduce the risk of a password compromise by 99.9 percent.
Google, also a founding FIDO supporter, is a bullish proponent of the demise of passwords. The company’s recently launched Titan Security Key is a USB key that supporst Bluetooth and NFC. Google also recently launched MFA access to G Suite and Google Cloud with the new key.
