Microsoft has announced it newest OS iteration Windows 10 will come with biometric authentication support.
The tech giant said its new operating system will support the next version of the Fast Identification Online (FIDO) spec, which will allow devices to be accessed using physical and behavioral characteristics, rather than traditional typed-out passwords.
“Microsoft has contributed design inputs to the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance, to be incorporated within FIDO 2.0 Technical Specifications. Transitioning away from passwords and to a stronger form of identity is one of the great challenges that we face in online computing, and we believe FIDO authentication, which is the subject of great discussion here at the White House summit, is the pathway to success,” said Microsoft’s Dustin Ingalls in a blog post.
“To address this challenge we joined the FIDO Alliance, where we are working alongside major industry partners to change the nature of authentication by developing specifications that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that supplant reliance on passwords to more securely authenticate users of online services.”
The FIDO standards aim to create a “universal framework” for secure and password-free authentication and address the problem faced by users while remembering multiple usernames and passwords. Members of the FIDO alliance include Samsung, Visa, PayPal, RSA, MasterCard, Google, Lenovo, ARM, and Bank of America as well as Microsoft.
