How was the FIDO Alliance established and what is its purpose?

How was the FIDO Alliance established and what is its purpose?

The FIDO Alliance is an industry consortium that aims to develop and promote authentication standards and technologies to replace traditional password-based authentication methods. The FIDO Alliance was founded in 2012 by a group of companies including PayPal, Lenovo, and Nok Nok Labs, and has since grown to include over 250 members from various industries, including technology, finance, and government.

FIDO Alliance was established to address the growing need for simpler, stronger authentication solutions that could reduce reliance on passwords and make online security easier for consumers and businesses. The idea was to create an open, scalable, and interoperable set of specifications that could enable the development of authentication methods that were both stronger and easier to use.

The founding members of FIDO Alliance recognized that traditional authentication methods like passwords, tokens, and one-time codes were becoming increasingly complex and difficult to use, while still being vulnerable to attacks. They saw the need for a standardized approach that would make it easier for users to authenticate themselves securely across a range of devices and services.

By working together to develop and promote open, industry standards for authentication, the FIDO Alliance has helped to create a more secure and convenient online experience for users, while also reducing the risk of fraud and data breaches.

The FIDO Alliance's main goal is to create open, interoperable, and scalable authentication standards and technologies that are secure, private, and easy to use for both consumers and enterprises. To achieve this goal, the alliance has developed two sets of specifications: FIDO UAF (Universal Authentication Framework) and FIDO U2F (Universal 2nd Factor).

FIDO UAF is a passwordless authentication standard that enables users to authenticate using their biometrics or other local factors such as PINs or gestures, while FIDO U2F is a two-factor authentication standard that uses a physical security key as the second factor. The FIDO Alliance also provides certification programs to ensure that products and services that use FIDO standards meet the alliance's security and interoperability requirements.

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