NTT DOCOMO Becomes First Mobile Network Operator to Deploy FIDO(R) Authentication, Enabling a Password-Less Future for 65 Million Throughout Japan
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/25/15 -- The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance (https://www.fidoalliance.org/), an industry consortium launched in 2013 to revolutionize online security with open standards for simpler, stronger authentication, has today announced that NTT DOCOMO has joined the board of directors. With this announcement, DOCOMO becomes the first Mobile Network Operator to join the Board of the world's leading industry body delivering standards for strong authentication online.
The FIDO Alliance is also announcing that NTT DOCOMO is the world's first Mobile Network Operator to deploy FIDO authentication throughout its network, delivering simple, strong authentication for DOCOMO's millions of customers on recently announced mobile devices. DOCOMO's devices and services achieve several milestones for the FIDO Ecosystem with today's announcements, including the first carrier billing system enabled by FIDO authentication, the first federated identity system to integrate FIDO authentication, the first mobile services ecosystem to launch with multiple FIDO Certified devices, and the first mobile device to offer FIDO privacy compliant iris biometric authentication.
"Today is a historic day for the FIDO Alliance, as NTT DOCOMO is not only our newest board member, they are the world's first Mobile Network Operator to deploy FIDO authentication," said FIDO Alliance president Dustin Ingalls. "We enthusiastically welcome NTT DOCOMO to the FIDO Alliance board of directors and recognize their outstanding accomplishment in bringing to market another innovation -- FIDO authentication -- greatly improving their customer experience and end-to-end security."
"By eliminating passwords with FIDO standards, we are able to deliver a superior end-user experience that includes enhanced security features; we will also be able to introduce innovative new services and product offerings that can utilize standards-based platforms and devices," said Seiji Maruyama, Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Product Department, NTT DOCOMO, INC. "After reviewing the different approaches to authentication available today, we settled on the FIDO standards as the right strategy for solving the current and future authentication needs of our customers. Since the FIDO technology is open standard anyone will be able to utilize, we look forward to creating the FIDO eco-system together with FIDO Alliance."
"Enabling an ecosystem with strong, private, easy-to-use FIDO authentication can be added to the many 'world first' innovations and achievements that NTT DOCOMO can claim," said Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance. "We congratulate NTT DOCOMO on its innovation and position at the forefront of FIDO deployments today. We look forward to working with NTT DOCOMO to take FIDO standards forward and move the world beyond passwords."
"When Michael Barrett and I first started work in 2009 on what would become the FIDO Alliance, we had no idea how it would be received by the wider market," said Ramesh Kesanupalli, Vice President of the FIDO Alliance, and FIDO Visionary & Founder, Nok Nok Labs. "This landmark achievement by NTT DOCOMO -- enabling FIDO certified authentication for their customers and moving an ecosystem in Japan with multiple partners at once -- is a huge step to meeting the original goals we aspired to -- providing simple, strong authentication at Internet scale."
NTT DOCOMO has enabled its FIDO services using solutions from its partners, Nok Nok Labs, Qualcomm, ARM, Samsung, Sharp, and Fujitsu.
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO provides innovative, convenient and secure mobile services that enable smarter living for each customer. The company serves over 65 million mobile customers in Japan via advanced wireless networks, including a nationwide 3G network and one of the world's first commercial LTE networks. Leveraging its unique capabilities as a mobile operator, DOCOMO is a leading developer of cutting-edge technologies for NFC mobile payments, mobile GPS, mobile TV, intuitive mobile assistance, environmental monitoring, smart grids and much more. Overseas, the company provides technical and operational expertise to eight mobile operators and other partner companies. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. Please visit https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/ for more information.
About The FIDO Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, www.fidoalliance.org, was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The FIDO Alliance is changing the nature of authentication with standards for simpler, stronger authentication that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce reliance on passwords. FIDO authentication is stronger, private, and easier to use when authenticating to online services.
The FIDO Alliance Board of Directors includes leading global organizations: Alibaba Holdings (NYSE: BABA); American Express (NYSE: AXP); ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and NASDAQ: ARMH); Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC); CrucialTec (KRX: 114120); Daon; Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS); Egis; Google (NASDAQ: GOOG); Intel (NASDAQ: INTC); ING (NYSE: ING); Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY); Lenovo (NASDAQ: LNVGY); MasterCard (NYSE: MA); Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT); Nok Nok Labs, Inc.; NTT DOCOMO, INC. (NYSE: DCM); NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI); Oberthur Technologies OT; PayPal (NASDAQ: EBAY); Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM); RSA®; Samsung Electronics, Ltd (KOSCOM: SECL); Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA); USAA ; VASCO (NASDAQ: VDSI); Visa Inc. (NYSE: V); Yubico.
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Source: The FIDO Alliance