The FIDO Alliance was founded to change the nature of online authentication by developing technical specifications that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce the reliance on passwords to authenticate users. It was meant to foster the creation of industry programs to help ensure successful worldwide adoption of the Specifications.
 
CA Technologies announced it has joined the Alliance in what is arguably a right direction given that the vendor is known for its identity access management solutions (a.k.a authentication). The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance turned one year old in February this year and its members continue to grow as security continues to become the hot potato of the Cloud era. What was it that an executive told me years ago during an interview? Of yeah… on the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog (and it wasn’t meant to be a derogatory statement but a generalization of the anonymity the Web offers as a default.
 

CA Technologies Joins FIDO Alliance
 
Group Aims to Advance Authentication and Remove Passwords from the Online Security Process
 
HONG KONG, May 9, 2014 — CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) today announced it has joined the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance, an industry consortium delivering standards for simpler, stronger authentication during online transactions.
 
As a leader in user authentication and a sponsor member of the FIDO Alliance, CA Technologies will contribute its expertise in multi-factor and risk-based authentication, and identity and access management, to the group’s work to create industry-accepted, open specifications to enhance the authentication process. 
 
“The market has been screaming for an alternative to passwords for years,” said Jim Reno, chief security architect, CA Technologies Security business. “With the focus from the FIDO Alliance and the participation of industry leaders such as CA, we will deliver the specifications that offer a viable alternative to passwords and strive for zero-friction when authenticating users. 
 
“CA Technologies has been a leader in identity & access management and user authentication for many years. The expertise and experience the company has working with some of the world’s leading corporations and governments across the globe will certainly help advance our mission for more secure and simultaneously easier-to-use online authentication,” said Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO Alliance.