Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently announced at the Stanford event, “White House Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection Summit,” that its Windows 10 OS would support the advanced FIDO (Fast Identification Online) spec. The integration would allow devices to work with a variety of third-party biometric readers. The move will also encourage many hardware developers to design extra security into a laptop or phone.
FIDO could replace password-protection and allow more localized, faster authentication methods. Microsoft executive Dustin Ingalls noted that moving beyond the password was one of the key priorities at the company.
Scott Charney, VP of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), represented the company at the Summit. Charney is responsible for a range of initiatives concerning the security of Microsoft’s internal networks, products, and services. He mentioned that the company has contributed design inputs to the FIDO Alliance, transitioning to a stronger form of identity. Several industry leaders have partnered for the FIDO Alliance to develop specifications that support more secure authentications measures on an open, interoperable platform.
FIDO Alliance partners include Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), PayPal and Microsoft. The system authenticates fingerprints or eye scans locally to protect biometric information through a zero-knowledge proof.
Windows 10 OS will support its 2.0 version. Version 1.0 was released in January and few companies are already making hardware compatible with FIDO to log into Google accounts.
Current integration in the Windows 10 Technical Preview enables a number of enterprise scenarios and allows members of the “Windows Insider Program” to evaluate the same. Integration with Windows 10 will also sign-in, and access to major SaaS services like Salesforce, Office 365 Exchange Online, Box, Citrix and more. Microsoft also plans to integrate Active Directory and Microsoft Account for consumer services like OneDrive, Outlook.com and more.
