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Achievement Unlocked: Passbolt joins FIDO Alliance

3 min. read

Shelby Lee Neubeck

Shelby Lee Neubeck

12 April, 2023

FIDO Alliance logo and passbolt logo — Announcing passbolt’s membership of the FIDO Alliance.

Passbolt is officially one of the newest members of the FIDO Alliance. Security is in the DNA and at the center of everything passbolt does. Joining the FIDO Alliance is a natural fit, as it allows passbolt to work with other companies and add to the development of open standards for authentication.

“The FIDO Alliance recognizes our new associate member passbolt. Service providers, such as passbolt are taking action against password theft, the proven cause of the majority of online attacks, breaches, and identity theft, and securing their users and sites against financial and information loss,” said Andrew Shikiar, executive director and CMO of the FIDO Alliance. “FIDO standards enable the online community of providers with the industry standard they have needed to transform strong authentication to an easy-to-use, affordable, and future-proofed model of authentication.”

— FIDO Alliance

Having the opportunity to contribute to research and development that will make the digital world a safer place is invaluable to passbolt. Think of it as a superhero team-up, but for online security.

So, What is FIDO? And why does it matter?

FIDO stands for Fast IDentity Online. The FIDO Alliance is a collection of companies that work together developing open, interoperable authentication standards that reduce reliance on passwords with authentication that is more secure, private and easier to use.

Why is the FIDO Alliance important? For starters, the alliance works to prevent cyber attacks and helps protect your data from cyber criminals. The standards created by FIDO enable improved interoperability and provide a phishing-resistant way to log into accounts. This includes passkeys, a technology based on FIDO standards that are an alternative to passwords.

Why passkeys?

Passkeys are a replacement for passwords that provide faster, easier, and more secure sign-ins to websites and apps across a user’s devices. Unlike passwords, passkeys are always strong and phishing-resistant. They simplify account registration for apps and websites, are easy to use, work across all of a user’s devices, and even other devices within physical proximity.

From a technical standpoint, passkeys are “discoverable” FIDO credentials for passwordless authentication. The cryptographic keys are used from end-user devices (computers, phones, or security keys) that are used for secure user authentication.

Using passwords to authenticate online has been the norm for years, but bad password hygiene can lead to passwords that are weak, easily guessed, or even stolen, leaving accounts open to attack. These issues are resolved by passkeys. They provide a safe and practical way for you to access your online accounts.

YouTube thumbnail for SWocv4BhCNgPlay YouTube video
FIDO Alliance — Passkeys in Action

Interoperability: An ongoing commitment to seamless integration

Nobody likes a walled garden, that’s why passbolt is a big supporter of harmony in the form of interoperability. No matter the application or website, everyone should have secure authentication methods. Interoperability is one of FIDOs main objectives. Something that passbolt is no stranger to.

The passbolt platform is already open source and — you guessed it — interoperable. That’s not just a buzzword that’s being thrown around. Passbolt is built on the strong foundation of OpenPGP, GnuPGP, and public key cryptography. Secure and proven technologies that allow seamless communication across various platforms is kind of a specialty around here.

No one should be limited or feel confined by their password manager or operating system keychain. ​​Regardless of your preference for Apple, Android, or Linux, passbolt is dedicated to providing you with the tools you need to manage your data in a way that is practical and, well, interoperable.

I have to tell you about the future

What does this mean for passbolt?

With passbolt officially joining the FIDO Alliance, expect some exciting changes. So what’s changing now that passbolt is a member of the FIDO Alliance? Well, for starters, passbolt will be able to contribute to the working groups working on open standards for authentication and credential management.

Passbolt will collaborate with the alliance’s other members to create a more user friendly, interoperable, and secure authentication landscape. As a result, passbolt users can expect even greater convenience and security when accessing their accounts and access to the latest cutting edge technologies such as passkeys.

Explore passbolt’s future

Passbolt is excited to start on a new journey with the FIDO Alliance to help create open standards for strong authentication. All part of passbolt’s ongoing efforts to provide a secure, transparent, and privacy friendly password manager for collaboration.

Want to learn more about the future of passbolt? Check out the roadmap to see what’s coming up. Join the passbolt community to connect, share your thoughts, and ask questions. Passbolt is always looking for ways to improve and provide the best possible experience, let us know what you’re looking for.

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