Japan's largest mobile network operator NTT DoCoMo has extended deployment of its FIDO Certified strong authentication to customers with Touch ID-equipped Apple iPhones and other iOS devices.
FIDO (Fast Identity Online) is a standard aimed at addressing the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies and mitigating the problems faced with remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The FIDO Alliance was formed in July 2012 to address these issues.
With the rollout, DoCoMo customers using iOS 9 or later devices will be able to securely authenticate themselves with Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature instead of a password when using the DOCOMO d ACCOUNT app, now available in the App Store.
Users will be able to have secure access to account details, billing and services, including mobile gaming and music platforms d game and d music, and shopping sites such as d delivery and d shopping. DoCoMo is also removing the password from carrier billing, allowing customers to approve their payments via Touch ID.
The operator is also adding this capability to a suite of 10 FIDO Certified Android devices from Samsung, Fujitsu, Sharp, and Sony Mobile, ensuring that their customers enjoy unprecedented choice between platforms, devices and biometric authentication modalities including fingerprint touch, fingerprint swipe, and iris recognition.
In a media update, DOCOMO said, "The app will encourage more DoCoMo partner companies to incorporate the FIDO standard as users demand biometric authentication for an increasingly diverse range of mobile handsets."
"The expansion of cross-platform support from NTT DoCoMo highlights the growing global consensus that using open standards from FIDO Alliance is the right strategy for moving the connected economy off its dependency on passwords," said Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance.