In a recent blog post written by Andy Steingruebl, Director of Ecosystem Security for PayPal, he highlighted the steps that PayPal has taken to help move the industry beyond passwords. Steingruebl explained that, last year, PayPal spearheaded the industry collaboration called the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance to help move folks beyond passwords. More than a year later, the Alliance has grown to 150 members – including companies like Google, Samsung, and Microsoft – and has released the final specifications which are available for any company to implement. Steingruebl explained that the purpose of these FIDO specifications is to use biometrics to make user authentication easier and more secure, while maintaining consumer privacy.

“We’ve known for some time now that there is a better way to perform authentication”, wrote Steingruebl.  “Passwords have been around for decades, but that technology hasn’t kept up with the pace of technology innovation – from smartphones to wearables. Today, people want more security with even greater convenience. PayPal’s goal with FIDO was to help drive the change to better meet this customer need.”

To read more about the FIDO specifications please view the blog post written by PayPal’s Director of Ecosystem Security.