MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 30, 2014) - The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance (http://www.fidoalliance.org/), an industry consortium revolutionizing online authentication with the first standards-based specifications, today announced that RSA, the Security Division of EMC and a world leader in security, has joined the FIDO Alliance and been appointed to the Board of Directors.
FIDO Alliance members commit to share technology and collaborate to deliver open specifications for universal strong authentication that enables FIDO-compliant authentication methods to be interoperable, more secure and private, and easier to use. As a market leader, RSA authentication solutions protect more than 500 million users and 60 billion transactions annually. RSA offers a diverse portfolio of authentication technologies including one-time password solutions, risk-based adaptive authentication solutions and fraud detection -- designed to help organizations achieve a higher level of identity assurance in enterprise, cloud and mobile environments. RSA is in a leadership position to contribute to the realization of a new era in authentication through the FIDO Alliance vision of universal strong authentication that is more secure, private and easier-to-use than today's passwords and PINs.
"RSA has taken a leading role in authentication since its inception. We join the FIDO Alliance as a Board Member to continue our leadership and join other industry leaders in developing authentication that delivers choice and interoperability with privacy to meet the needs of diverse user populations," said Kayvan Alikhani, Senior Director of Technology, RSA. "RSA's resources and expertise in authentication will serve our customers and the FIDO community as we protect next generation access with higher levels of user convenience."
"One of the market leaders in strong authentication, RSA is an important addition to the FIDO Alliance, and a respected member of the Board of Directors. We greatly value RSA's incomparable experience and understanding of secure authentication," said Michael Barrett, President of the FIDO Alliance. "We draw on RSA's expertise as we move closer to delivering FIDO specifications for universal strong authentication, to a marketplace crying for relief from the damages passwords and PIN dependency have wrought for both providers and users of online and mobile sites and services."
"We welcome RSA to the FIDO Alliance board, a milestone for the FIDO Alliance. With RSA among us, the FIDO Alliance vision comes closer to reality, and our momentum in developing an open ecosystem accelerates," said Ramesh Kesanupalli, founder of Nok Nok Labs and FIDO Alliance visionary. "RSA's expertise and historical leadership in the space will further help the Alliance to strengthen FIDO specifications."
Open FIDO specifications will support a full range of authentication technologies, including biometrics such as fingerprint and iris scanners, voice and facial recognition, as well as further enabling existing solutions and communications standards, such as Trusted Platform Modules (TPM), USB Security Tokens, embedded Secure Elements (eSE), Smart Cards, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and Near Field Communication (NFC). The open specifications are being designed to be extensible and to accommodate future innovation, as well as protect existing investments. FIDO specifications allow the interaction of technologies within an interoperable infrastructure, enabling authentication choice to meet the distinct needs of users and organizations.
About The FIDO Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, www.fidoalliance.org, was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The Alliance plans to change the nature of authentication by developing standards-based specifications for better authentication that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce reliance on passwords. Better authentication is stronger, private, and easier to use when authenticating to online services.
About RSA
RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of intelligence-driven security solutions. RSA helps the world's leading organizations solve their most complex and sensitive security challenges: managing organizational risk, safeguarding mobile access and collaboration, preventing online fraud, and defending against advanced threats.
Combining agile controls for identity assurance, fraud detection, and data protection, robust Security Analytics and industry-leading GRC capabilities, and expert consulting and advisory services, RSA brings visibility and trust to millions of user identities, the data they create, the transactions they perform, and the IT infrastructure they rely on. For more information, please visit www.RSA.com and www.EMC.com
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Suzanne Matick
for FIDO Alliance
831-479-1888