Apple, Google and Microsoft working on passwordless sign-in tech with FIDO

In day-to-day life, users access so many different platforms that ask for verification via password. However, instead of setting up different passwords for all the platforms, people end up using the same combination of words and symbols as their passwords to the multiple platforms. While this might be a convenient way, it puts the security of all the accounts with the same or similar password at risk. Hence, the Fast Identity Online Alliance, along with World Wide Web Consortium have developed a new passwordless technology. 

"In a joint effort to make the web more secure and usable for all, Apple Google and Microsoft today announced plans to expand support for a common passwordless sign-in standard created by the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. The new capability will allow websites and apps to offer consistent, secure, and easy passwordless sign-ins to consumers across devices and platforms." 

FIDO Alliance

The press release also talks about password-only authentication to be one of the biggest security problems on the internet. If a bad actor tries to steal information from one of the accounts of the user, access to others with a similar password is given. The FIDO Alliance agrees that password managers that create unique combinations for every platform (and store the password) and two-factor authentication incrementally improve the security of users' accounts, the need for a sign-in technology that is more secure and convenient is the need of the hour.  

FIDO mentions that hundreds of technology companies and service providers from across the globe have worked with the alliance and W3C to create passwordless sign-in standards that are already supported in billions of devices and all modern web browsers. Companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft have led the development of this technology and are now building support into their respective platforms. 

For the passwordless sign-in feature to work, users are given two new capabilities. Firstly, users will be allowed to automatically access their FIDO sign-in credentials on many of their devices without having to re-enrol for every new account. Secondly, users will be enabled 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.