What is Fast Identity Online (FIDO)? (Benefits, Is It Secure, How Does It Work)


What is FIDO?

FIDO (Fast ID Online) is a collection of technology-neutral solid authentication security protocols. The FIDO Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to standardizing authentication at the client and protocol layers, created FIDO.

The FIDO specifications support multifactor authentication (MFA) and public-key cryptography. FIDO keeps it locally on the user's device to protect personally-identifying information (PII), such as biometric authentication data, rather than in a password database.

The Universal Authentication Framework (UAF) and the Universal Second Factor (U2F) protocols are supported by FIDO. During registration with an online service, the client device establishes a new key pair using UAF and keeps the private key; the public key is registered with the online service.

During authentication, the client device verifies ownership of the service's private key by signing a challenge, which entails a user-friendly action like submitting a fingerprint, entering a PIN, snapping a picture, or speaking into a microphone.

Benefits for Your Organization

FIDO authentication reduce the risks and damages of a data breach. Google Accounts, GitHub, Dropbox Twitter, and Yahoo Japan are just a few of the Web's most popular tools and apps that use FIDO authentication.

  • Benefit for users − Users benefit from quick and secure authentication flows.

  • Benefit for developers − Simple APIs can be used by app and web developers to authenticate users securely.

  • Benefit for Businesses − Site owners and service providers can better protect users.

How Does FIDO Authentication Work?

A dependent party interacts with a user's authenticator via APIs in a FIDO authentication pathway. Your service, which consists of a back-end server and a front-end application, is the reliant party.

A FIDO authenticator generates user credentials. A public and private key are both included in a user credential. The public key is shared with your service, while the private key is kept private by the authenticator.

An authenticator might be a built-in feature of the user's device or a piece of external hardware or software. Authentication and registration are the two basic interactions for which the authenticator is used.

In an authentication scenario, the authenticator must produce proof of the user's private key when the user returns to the service on a different device or after their session expires. It accomplishes this by responding to a server-issued cryptographic challenge.

Are FIDO Protocols Secure?

The FIDO protocols guarantee user privacy while providing lightning-fast and secure access to online services. FIDO protocols never provide information to online services that allows them to collaborate and track the user between services.

User trust is essential to the FIDO Alliance ecosystem's success, which aims to protect users' privacy while delivering strong authentication to online businesses.

The FIDO Alliance's unmistakable commitment to preserving our users' privacy is reflected in these Privacy Principles. The basis that makes the FIDO standards as privacy-protecting as they are secure is provided by the thorough technical procedures that pervade the specifications.

FIDO Privacy Principles

Some of FIDO's privacy measures aren't solely technological; some are policy-based, while others are concerned with the user experience.

  • Any operation involving personal data should require clear, informed user consent.

  • Provide the user with a clear context for any FIDO actions.

  • Personal data should only be collected for FIDO-related activities.

  • Only use personal information for FIDO operations.

  • Allow users to manage and view their FIDO Authenticators with ease.

  • Prevent illegal access to or disclosure of FIDO-related data.

Other technological precautions in the FIDO specifications include the fact that a key supplied to a single website can only be used in that website's web browser, enhancing the strong border between sites. This criterion renders the theft of a public key for the purpose of phishing from a different source ineffective. It prevents several colluding sites from employing an Authenticator to rigorously verify and correlate a user's identity. At the same time, they browse the Web.

The FIDO Alliance's unmistakable commitment to preserving our users' privacy is reflected in these Privacy Principles. The basis that makes the FIDO standards as privacy-protecting as they are secure is provided by the thorough technical procedures that pervade the specifications.

Updated on: 09-Jun-2022

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