Nok Nok Labs releases Touch ID support
10 October, 2014
category: Biometrics, Digital ID
Nok Nok Labs announced its implementation for the Apple iPhone with the FIDO Ready NNL Multifactor Authentication Client that supports the public Touch ID API, released in iOS 8. iPhone applications integrated with Nok Nok client have the ability to leverage Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint sensor to offer more secure online authentication to the growing range of Touch ID devices, which includes the iPhones 5S, 6 and 6 Plus.
With this update, Nok Nok Labs adds Touch ID support to its FIDO Ready products as well as Samsung’s fingerprint-sensor enabled devices. Both iPhone and Samsung users can remotely authenticate to service providers that support the FIDO framework, such as PayPal and Alipay. The Multifactor Authentication Client aims to reduce authentication complexity while improving the user experience, lowering costs, and reducing the reliance on passwords. The Nok Nok solution leverages the Secure Enclave on iOS 8 and Touch ID-enabled devices.
This latest version of MFAC also supports out-of-band authentication on both iOS and Android devices, enabling mobile devices to authenticate using QR codes and push notifications. This feature makes it possible to use FIDO authentication on a separate device when there is no FIDO client on the primary device, such as a tablet or computer.
QR codes bind the device to the user’s account, which is helpful for authenticating on public machines, where it is not desirable to remember user information. Push notifications simplify the user experience for “remembered,” or known devices. Users can control the devices that can access their account, and restrict access from lost devices.
By integrating FIDO Ready technology with Samsung devices, leveraging Touch ID on the iPhone, and enabling different authentication methods such as biometrics, PINs, and secure USB, the Nok Nok solution is able to provide FIDO support to a wide range of devices. Beyond Touch ID and the S5, users can also take advantage of the Nok Nok unified API on older devices with PINs and other authentication methods, without having to change the device. Thus, this modern authentication technology truly opens up stronger FIDO authentication to a significant percentage of mobile device users in a way that is cost-effective, easy to use, secure, and scalable.
Nok Nok Labs’ Touch ID functionality will be available later in 2014. The out-of-band functionality is available today.
