It was recently revealed by Microsoft at the Stanford Cybersecurity Summit, that the company wouldbe supporting Window 10 with the next version of the Fast Identification Online – FIDO spec enabling devices to work with plenty of third party biometric readers and also provide easy framework for any hardware developers wanting to build extra security in a laptop or a phone.
This could mean that companies designing useful things such as fingerprint readers as well as iris scanners could now rest assured with the thought that their technology will now work with an upgraded version of the most popular desktop operating system and users would probably be in a position to log in to Outlook with fingerprint or an eyes-can with this new development.
With regards to the prevailing fingerprint readers, FIDO has been designed to replace passwords completely by a faster and much more localized authentication system and unlike the traditional biometric security methods, FIDO could completely replace passwords and is designed in such a way that no biometric data gets leaked online with everything inclusive of the authentication done locally offline.
Designed to Protect Biometric Information
Biometric authentication is utilised in computer science for the purpose of identification as well as access control and is also used as identity of individuals in groups which are under surveillance. FIDO which has been designed as an open standard has been supported by some of the largest companies in banking and tech which include Microsoft, PayPal, Google and Bank of America where the system is created for the purpose of protecting biometric information through a zero knowledge proof, authenticating fingerprints or eye scans locally with any exposure to the web at large.
Dustin Ingall of Microsoft has commented in a blog post accompanying the announcement that moving beyond the password was `one of the top priorities for them at Microsoft’.He has also commented that `the current Technical Preview build enables a number of enterprise scenarios and it showcases their integration with Windows 10 sign in, Azure Active Directory and access to major SaaS services such as Office 365 Exchange Online, Salesforce, Citrix, Box, Concur, to mention a few’.
Window 10 – Big Release for Microsoft
Window 10 would also be including Active Directory integration for on-premise scenarios and Microsoft Account integration for consumer Microsoft services like Outlook.com, OneDrive and much more. Specification of version 1.0 had been released in January with companies such as Yubico making hardware with the use of FIDO in order to log into Google account.
Window 10 support is tied to the 2.0 release where Microsoft has been making its contribution in design inputs. Windows 10 being a big release for Microsoft, great efforts is being done with the OS that has already received positive feedback and is presently in the technical preview stage of development.
Even at the technical preview stage, Microsoft lays claims that Windows Insiders running one of the latest build of the Windows 10 technical preview could test the embedded FIDO 2.0 specification. With the OS comprising of several new features, Microsoft is making headway in more addition with its announcement of Window 10 supporting the next version of FIDO spec.
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