Today, Nok Nok Labs has announced that its NNL Multifactor Authentication Client (MFAC) now supports the public Touch ID API from Apple. The news will come as a relief to developers hoping to integrate Touch ID biometric access control in their apps but are skeptical about security thanks to Apple’s failure to significantly improve the fingerprint security on the newest iPhones.
With the FIDO Ready MFAC supporting Touch ID, iPhone users can finally find themselves included in the growing ecosystem of strong authentication enabled applications that rely on Nok Nok Labs’ technology. The PayPal and Alibaba biometric authentication features, for instance, can now be enjoyed by smartphone users with iPhone 5S, 6 or 6 Plus as well as any upcoming product featuring the Touch ID sensor and running on iOS 8.
Phillip Dunkelberger, CEO and CEO of Nok Nok Labs says that the whole industry is committed to the founding ideals of the FIDO Alliance, of which his company is a founding member.
“Even companies who are not directly involved with FIDO are recognizing the need for a standardized approach to authentication that is simple and cost effective for the user yet remains highly secure,” he explains. “With this latest release of our products with support for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, we are showing the market that no matter the device, you can integrate once and authenticate anywhere.”
For those keeping track, the growing list of modalities that Nok Nok Labs supports, now on both Android and iOS devices, includes biometrics, PINs and secure USB. The Nok Nok API stretches beyond those, however, allowing users to benefit from bolstered FIDO authentication on older devices.
According to a statement from Nok Nok Labs made earlier today, the Touch ID functionality will be available before the end of 2014.
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