Thales has released new passwordless authentication devices that can be used to log into Microsoft Azure AD apps and services. The devices are geared towards enterprise customers, and are compliant with the latest FIDO2 standards.

To that end, the devices will act as a hardware token that can be deployed for PKI-FIDO use cases. The technology can be integrated into ID cards and badges, which employees can use to gain access to physical locations in addition to workstations, networks, and accounts. It is also compatible with existing PKI authentication practices, which means that organizations can adopt the new Thales tokens without needing to replace their existing infrastructure.

Doing so will make it easier for those organizations to transition to the cloud. 

“Many organizations are heavily invested in PKI, and other authentication schemes which have delivered on the passwordless value proposition for legacy on-premises apps,” said Thales Access Management VP Francois Lasnier. “This collaboration with Microsoft offers a simple way to support secure cloud access with a broad range of access management solutions.”

“It’s clear we need to provide our customers with authentication options that are secure and easy to use,” added Microsoft Program Management Partner Director Sue Bohn. “We are pleased to see companies like Thales support our passwordless journey by integrating their solutions with Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Windows 10.”

Thales recently became the first company to achieve the Common Criteria security standard for its mobile ID technology. It has also launched new biometric payment cards that feature fingerprint sensors from Fingerprint Cards.

Before that, Microsoft introduced its support for passwordless FIDO2 and WebAuthn protocols on the Azure AD platform back in July of 2019. The company conducted a public preview to promote the improved passwordless utility, prompting Yubico to give away free YubiKeys to commemorate the milestone.

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(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)