Nok Nok Labs Expands DOCOMO’s FIDO Certified Biometric Authentication Services

Japan’s NTT DOCOMO has teamed up with Nok Nok Labs (NNL) to bring biometric authentication to all its customers. The MNO is integrating the NNL S3 Authentication Suite into its ecosystem so that customers can login to online services via fingerprint and iris scan.

NNL is, of course, a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and NTT DOCOMO joined FIDO’s board of directors last May; as such, NTT is becoming the first mobile carrier to offer FIDO Certified authentication to all of its customers via a unified identity service.

It’s emblematic of a larger commitment on the MNO’s part to secure, biometric authentication. Together with OEM Fujitsu and biometrics developer Delta ID, DOCOMO launched the world’s first iris scanning smartphone last summer; and the company also supports devices featuring fingerprint scanners, such as Sharp’s Aquos ZETA SH-03G. Soon, with the NNL S3 Authentication Suite, customers will be able to use these devices for convenient, secure access to a range of DOCOMO services.

Commenting on the collaboration in a statement, Nok Nok Labs CEO Phillip Dunkelberger said that “DOCOMO’s visionary commitment to simple and strong authentication is a milestone in the journey to drive secure and convenient online authentication on a global scale,” while NTT DOCOMO VP Seiji Maruyama commended Nok Nok Lab’s FIDO Certified solution for enabling the MNO “to deliver a superior end-user experience that includes enhanced security features” and “to introduce innovative new services and product offerings that are able to utilize this same standards-based platform.”