“By being first to market with FIDO Alliance biometric component certification for their new line of Galaxy devices, Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S10 and S10+ as the industry best practice for biometric-enabled devices…” – Brett McDowell, Executive Director, FIDO Alliance

The first solution to receive certification through the FIDO Alliance’s Biometric Component Certification Program is a high-profile one: Qualcomm’s ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor is one of the key features of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S10.

Launched last September, the certification program is designed to assess biometric subcomponents with respect to the ISO/IEC 19795 and ISO/IEC 30107 standards, and to assess their Presentation Attack Detection capabilities. Its launch reflected growing trends in the mobile authentication sector, with a growing recognition of the need for standardized testing, and an increasing awareness of the danger of spoofing attacks.

As the first biometric component to attain certification through the program, Qualcomm’s ultrasonic sensor has a particular distinction that offers it and the smartphone housing it a means of market differentiation. And its integration into Samsung’s new flagship smartphone will help to showcase the solution to the mobile market, while also further promoting the importance of FIDO Alliance authentication standards.

As FIDO Alliance Executive Director Brett McDowell explained in a statement, “By being first to market with FIDO Alliance biometric component certification for their new line of Galaxy devices, Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S10 and S10+ as the industry best practice for biometric-enabled devices, while at the same time validating the necessity of our program to provide this important benchmark to the marketplace.”

The testing itself was performed by iBeta, which has also established its own NVLAP-accredited Presentation Attack Detection testing program. Like FIDO and Qualcomm, iBeta, too, should benefit from the association with Samsung’s Galaxy S10 in terms of wider industry recognition.