Microsoft Makes Biometrics Focal Point For Windows 10 Security

With Windows 10, you'll have more options for password protection. In a recent blog post, Microsoft announced they'll support new Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO) standards, which they also helped contribute to. With FIDO 2.0, you'll have wider availability to use biometrics, which means your next-generation PC might have some biometric scanners built right in. In fact, it could make that Synaptics touchpad, which also supports new FIDO guidelines, a must-have accompaniment for Windows 10, if you're of the mind that fingerprints are better than passwords.

The move could also have an impact on mobile, and quietly suggests biometric scanning may see a larger footprint on Windows 10 for mobile devices with future hardware iterations.

An open standard, FIDO is supported by some of the biggest companies in tech, and has the backing of some financial institutions like PayPal as well. Version 1.0 of FIDO's new specs are already available, but Windows 10 is aimed for the future, just like FIDO 2.0. Microsoft says Adopting FIDO's new standards is "one of the most important priorities for the upcoming Windows 10 release".

Microsoft continued "FIDO standards enable a universal framework that a global ecosystem delivers for a consistent and greatly improved user experience of strong password-less authentication. Interoperability of FIDO products is a hallmark of FIDO authentication and for this reason we're confident that it will succeed in transforming the industry. We're excited about the prospect of bringing a FIDO solution to market and how it will solve a critical need for both enterprises and consumers alike."

We're already seeing FIDO's newest standards being implemented by Synaptics and Yubikey, while others like Google are already making biometrics part of their two-step play for security.

Source: Microsoft