Apple, Google, and Microsoft have committed to expanding the FIDO standard to boost passwordless sign-ins through a joint effort. In 2020, Apple joined the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) alliance to support passwordless sign-ins. Passwordless sign-ins are currently supported in billions of devices through the FIDO Alliance and W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
The companies have announced two new capabilities for more seamless and secure passwordless sign-ins:
- Allow users to automatically access their FIDO sign-in credentials (referred to by some as a “passkey”) on many of their devices, even new ones, without re-enrolling every account.
- Enable users to use FIDO authentication on their mobile device to sign in to an app or website on a nearby device, regardless of the OS platform or browser they are running.
Andrew Shikiar, executive director and CMO of the FIDO Alliance, said, “Simpler, stronger authentication is not just FIDO Alliance’s tagline ”” it also has been a guiding principle for our specifications and deployment guidelines. Ubiquity and usability are critical to seeing multi-factor authentication adopted at scale, and we applaud Apple, Google, and Microsoft for helping make this objective reality by committing to support this user-friendly innovation in their platforms and products,”
Jen Easterly, Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stated that the FIDO alliance and World Wide Web Consortium standards aim to keep the American people safer online:
“The standards developed by the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium and being led in practice by these innovative companies is the type of forward-leaning thinking that will ultimately keep the American people safer online. I applaud the commitment of our private sector partners to open standards that add flexibility for the service providers and a better user experience for customers. At CISA, we are working to raise the cybersecurity baseline for all Americans. Today is an important milestone in the security journey to encourage built-in security best practices and help us move beyond passwords. Cyber is a team sport, and we’re pleased to continue our collaboration.”
Apple, Google, and Microsoft platforms will support these new capabilities in the coming year.
