This week served as a great reminder of how versatile the mobile identity industry is. Definitions of both mobility and authentication are very flexible when we look at this exciting area of technology and this is a byproduct of the number of interested parties involved in driving new ideas forward and a consumer world that hasn’t decided necessarily what it needs, but just that it is done with the flimsy password as soon as something better comes along.
The FIDO Alliance is dedicated to this, with its members all pushing for a post-password paradigm to sweep over a waiting public. FIDO announced this week that it has gained over 50 members in the past eight months that it has existed. With big name members like MasterCard and Google fighting for universal strong authentication standards, FIDO has been gaining traction.
Protocols like those that the Alliance is fighting for will enable a number of game changing technologies including physical point of sale mCommerce solutions (like the ones actively being developed by its members). Mobile commerce is most often associated with financial transactions done via smartphone, but NXT-ID is adamant that the definition not be so narrow. The biometric solutions provider applied for a patent that will form the foundation of its Wocket mobile wallet technology: a piece of wearable technology that not only brings strong authentication into the back pockets and purses of consumers, but also allows for multiple payment methods to converge onto a single card.
In the same way that mCommerce doesn’t need to be confined to the smartphone, this week Fingerprint Cards AB reminded us that the same is true for fingerprint sensors. Fujitsu launched six devices sporting FPC swipe sensors, and while four were smartphones two of the devices were tablet PCs. This marks the first time that Fingerprint Cards sensors have been featured on a tablet PC.
FIDO is not the only group that is fostering innovation in the world of better-than-password security. Lockheed Martin also has an initiative dedicated to improving the world of authentication called the Cyber Security Alliance. This week the organization welcomed three new members: Red Hat, Fire Eye and SPLUNK. The companies will each bring their expertise into the collaborative space that Lockheed Martin has provided in the NextGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center to provide end to end solutions for a number of verticals.
Speaking of providing mobile authentication technology to the verticals, Cross Match Technologies is a great example of what mobile identification can really encompass. This week at the Secure Tech conference in Ottawa, Ontario the company showcased it’s SEEK Avenger handheld verification unit designed for field use in law enforcement and border control. This is yet another reminder that even though the hype around mobility is currently focused on consumer electronics like the iPhone 5S, mobile ID’s borders encompass a much broader set of innovative applications.
acquiring Novalon GamesFinally, now that we are firmly in the month that will see the Xbox One bring biometric videogame controllers into the living rooms of millions of gamers it’s time to keep an eye out on the mobile side of biometric entertainment. OBJE is convinced that now is the time to strike an aggressive pose by . In doing this, OBJE can add the developer’s catalogue of mobile games to its portfolio that includes its videogame company Obscene Games.
Follow Us