International. HID Global today announced the next step it will take in its collaboration with Microsoft to deliver solutions that enable users to use smart cards to sign in to Microsoft Windows, devices and cloud applications, eliminating the need to rely exclusively on a username and password. A new FIDO 2.0-based authentication solution will merge HID's path in authentication with Microsoft's to add an additional level of security to protect against the most serious threats and those that have recently emerged.
FIDO 2.0 is an open standards-based user authentication framework that replaces passwords with advanced FIDO credentials, designed to more effectively resist and combat cyber attacks, including phishing and information leakage attacks. Users will be able to have the convenience of using a HID smart card that contains a FIDO 2.0 credential without dealing with patents. Microsoft is incorporating FIDO 2.0 support into web browsers, cloud applications, and Windows, expanding the possibilities for more secure authentication on the Internet.
"Working together with Microsoft to develop open standards for identity and access management will allow FIDO credentials to be offered in different presentations offered by HID, including smart cards, phone applications, USB devices or other things," said Brad Jarvis, vice president and managing director of Identity and Access Management Solutions at HID Global. "Because FIDO 2.0 is open, it can be used to authenticate a wide range of applications where this standard is implemented and ensure interoperability, which is scalable and the cornerstone of trusted IDs everywhere."
FIDO is an attractive authentication model that requires cryptographic proof of the nature of the credential, while improving functionality for users, who, prior to this solution, had to resign themselves to having a fragmented experience, logging in online multiple times in different places, for example, in a bank account or an email. FIDO also protects privacy in a more reliable way, which reinforces the trust of users.
By providing the technology that underpins trusted IDs, HID Global has one of the broadest portfolios of identity and access management products and services, encompassing multi-factor authentication, identity and physical access management, credential management, digital signature, and digital encryption.
