FIDO Alliance extends the use of authentication standards in Europe

At launch, 12 FIDO Alliance member companies active in the European market are participating in the new FIDO Europe Working Group: Cartes Bancaires, Daon, Federal Office for Information Security (German BSI), Gemalto, Infineon, ING Group, Nok Nok Labs, Oesterreichische Staatsdruckerei (Austrian State Printing House), TRUXTUN Capital, Vasco Data Security, Verizon Innovation and Yubico.

The group will facilitate communication and cooperation within the European market to promote awareness and deployment of FIDO solutions aligned to regulatory requirements from the relevant European agencies. Working closely with policy makers and industry stakeholders, the Working Group will coordinate communications, publish informational assets, and deliver educational events to local markets across Europe.

For each Working Group’s charter, particular focus will be placed on the Payment Services Directive (PSD2), Electronic Identification and Trust Services Regulation (eIDAS), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, along with the role of FIDO authentication in products and services subject to those regulations.

FIDO standards are designed to overcome the usability challenges of older, first-generation authentication solutions. FIDO authentication, already available from many service providers and technology providers in Europe, reduces organisations’ and users’ reliance on passwords by providing cryptographic, on-device authentication that is safer and easier to use than passwords and one-time passcodes.