The Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO) recently announced the first products certified under its Biometric Component Certification Program. This program was created to respond to the market need for a standards-based means to assess the efficacy of biometric certification components utilizing accredited third-party, independent labs to assure the performance of a vendor implementation. The first products certified through the new Biometric Component Certification Program are smartphones offering a new in-display technology which utilizes sound waves to capture detailed 3D images, a security enhancement over existing, less detailed 2D photo prints presently used in many smartphones.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1 on Information Technology and its Subcommittee (SC) 37 on Biometrics have coordinated and worked closely with the FIDO Alliance since 2017 through an established liaison arrangement. FIDO's biometric requirements utilize several ISO/IEC JTC 1 standards (ISO/IEC 19795-1, ISO/IEC 30107-1, and ISO/IEC 30107-3) to evaluate biometric performance and presentation attack detection for these authenticators.
Consumers are increasingly storing more information and conducting transactions in their mobile devices, which heightens the need for standards and secure verification systems. FIDO's Biometric Component Certification Program is especially significant because it certifies the efficacy of a system of components by an accredited third-party lab, providing customers a standardized way to trust the biometric systems they rely upon for fingerprint, iris, face, and/or voice recognition. Vendors benefit when they can achieve certification for their entire system of components, rather than being required to repeatedly prove performance for each customer, saving time and costs.
About ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37
ISO/IEC JTC 1, SC 37, develops and facilitates standards within the field of biometrics. ANSI is the International Secretariat of ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 37. The mission of SC 37 is to ensure a comprehensive and high-priority, worldwide approach for the development and approval of international biometric standards.
About the FIDO Alliance
The FIDO Alliance is working to change the nature of authentication with open standards that are more secure than passwords, simpler for consumers to use, and easier for service providers to deploy and manage.