person using laptop and holding phone

The Passwordless World — Put a Secure Fence Around Your Data

Valuable data needs to be protected by a strong, secure fence. This digital perimeter lets authorized users in while keeping bad actors out. 

Strong verification solutions featuring multi-factor authentication (MFA) and sophisticated cryptography help combat password vulnerabilities by requiring users to present multiple forms of identification before achieving access. But while these  identity authentication solutions are less prone to compromise, the infrastructure required is often complex. Cybersecurity professionals have long searched for a simpler and more secure way to control access to data.

Enter FIDO.

Put This Watchdog Near Your Fence

The FIDO Alliance puts forth frameworks and standards to fortify and evolve protections for digital assets. The organization is comprised of some of the biggest and most respected names in tech, and together, members work to enable powerful layered protocols to provide extremely robust access control.  

FIDO, which stands for Fast Identity Online, is a set of technology security specifications that essentially enables strong authentication — working like a lock and key. Examples include when you log onto a laptop with Windows Hello or to an Apple device with iOS Touch or Face ID.

As organizations step up their identity authentication practices, the challenge lies in selecting verification solutions that increase data security while improving the user experience. The combination of HID RFID readers and passwordless authentication solutions from FIDO provides ideal building materials to establish a corral of protection for digital data today.

Build Out a Password-Free Practice

With hackers an unfortunate ‘new normal’ these days, there’s never been a better time to tighten workplace perimeters. Studies show 81% of security breaches are due to weak or stolen passwords. Pivoting to passwordless authentication is essential, and with the many advancements available today it’s reckless not to sunset this fading practice.

In our executive brief, FIDO: The Passwordless World Is Here, HID identity authentication experts explain the importance of FIDO Alliance’s work and how its technologies lift data security measures. We also touch on the vulnerabilities of continuing to work with passwords, and how it can drain your precious resources (e.g., IT security teams report spending an average of six hours a week managing passwords). 

Applying strong, passwordless authentication measures like MFA reduces the risk of data breaches, thereby optimizing operations and preserving spend as the hassle of ongoing cyber battles and password resets is drastically diminished. Users experience positive, rewarding sign-on scenarios and an uptick in productivity. With MFA as part of an organization’s defense strategy, wins include: 

  • Enhanced security
  • Stronger authentication
  • Reduced operational costs
  • Better user experience
  • Increased productivity

Untether Your Business From the Burdens of Passwords

The future of identity authentication is passwordless — and progressive businesses are already untethering their operations from the liabilities of misuse, reuse and ridiculous combinations of letters, numbers and symbols we’ve all been burdened with to date. In an HID OMNIKEY® RFID reader + FIDO-enabled world, people can skip memorizing and resetting complicated passwords and instead lean on swift, secure log-ins with RFID-based credentials and/or biometrics. 

Ready to forgo the nuisance and risks around passwords in the workplace? Shift your organization into a stronger, more seamless future by adding the latest in digital fencing to tighten your digital perimeters.

See The Passwordless Playground infographic for more on HID + FIDO.

Read more about passwordless authentication in our executive brief, FIDO: The Passwordless World Is Here. 

Explore key components in RFID authentication. 

Christian is Director of Product & Program Management and responsible for the Embedded and Desktop RFID portfolio for the Extended Access Technologies Business Area, including iCLASS SE Reader Module and OMNIKEY. He has two degrees in electrical engineering and business administration and more than ten years of experience in product management for different industries.