FIDO2 is one of the best security measures that you should consider for protecting your data and systems. A core component of FIDO2 is Web Authentication (FIDO WebAuthn), which is a web-based API that allows websites to update theirlogin pages to add FIDO-based authentication on supported browsers as well as platforms. FIDO2 enables users to leverage common devices to easily authenticate to online services in both desktop and mobile environments.
Web services and apps can/should turn on this functionality in order to give their users an easier login experience via mobile devices, biometrics, and/or FIDO security keys - and with much higher security over passwords alone. The higher security of FID comes from the use of cryptographic login credentials that are unique across every website, which never leave the user’s device and are never stored on a server. This security model is very important because it eliminates the risks of phishing, all forms of password theft as well as replay attacks.
So, what is the relationship between FIDO Alliance and WebAuthn? After the release of its initial FIDO UAF and FIDO U2F specifications, the FIDO Alliance started making FIDO Authentication more accessible to users worldwide. The Alliance developed 3technical specifications that defined a web-based API, something that enables FIDO Authentication to be built directly into browsers and platforms.
The FIDO Alliance partnered with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is theinternational standards organization for the World Wide Web, to standardize FIDO Authentication for the entire web platform. This standardization would later grow the FIDO ecosystem by an entire community of web browsers as well asweb application servers supporting the standard.
The member companies of the FIDO Alliance submitted the FIDO specifications to the World Wide Web Consortium for formal standardization in the year 2015. They then worked within the World Wide Web Consortium to finalize the API, which became known as Web Authentication (WebAuthn). Web Authentication was officially recognized as a W3C web standard in March of the year 2019. Right now, WebAuthn is part of the FIDO Alliance’s FIDO2 specifications and the FIDO Alliance runs certification programs to ensure compliance.
For more information on FIDOWebAuthn, visit our website at https://loginid.io/
