Government agencies have particular interests in and requirements for strong authentication to both secure their own applications, and to meet responsibilities in setting policy that improves cybersecurity overall. Governments can influence market acceptance of FIDO authentication, both as a significant user of the technology and as policy maker and regulator.
“The FIDO Alliance welcomes BSI as our newest FIDO Government member joining the effort to advance universal standards for strong authentication that is more secure, private, and easier-to-use than passwords,” said Dustin Ingalls, president of the FIDO Alliance.
As the German national cybersecurity authority, the goal of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is to promote IT security. The BSI is first and foremost the central IT security service provider for the German federal government. Moreover, the BSI offers services to IT manufacturers as well as private and commercial users and providers of information technology.
“As a recognized leader in cybersecurity policy, the BSI is well positioned to demonstrate the value of FIDO standards to their peer agencies in other European Union member states and establish FIDO as a recognized best practice for strong authentication by policy makers and regulators across the continent,” said Brett McDowell, executive director of the FIDO Alliance.
“Moving beyond passwords with FIDO authentication is excellent to secure networks and resources within the government enterprise,” said Bernd Kowalski, head of department Secure Electronic IDs, Certification and Standardisation, BSI. “BSI has pursued a relationship with the FIDO Alliance and we are very pleased to be among the first government members to participate in the development of open FIDO standards and the future of authentication.”
The BSI is a member of the NFC Forum, and based on that work, the use of NFC-enabled FIDO authentication media is already included in the NFC Forum’s Use Case documentation for Public Transport. The German government is preparing a proof-of-concept for the interoperability solutions that are currently being developed by the NFC Forum in Germany. This project will include FIDO NFC media for secure sign-on to online accounts provided by Public Transport service providers.