Fujitsu enables biometric authentication for IoT

Fujitsu Laboratories says it has developed a technology that enables safe and easy use of cloud services through IoT devices by leveraging the biometric authentication functionality and near-field wireless functionality of modern smartphones.

In the era of IoT, various devices are connected to cloud services. When using these services such as parcel delivery lockers in apartments or public facilities, or when using car sharing services, user authentication will need to take place each time a service is used.

With existing ID and password systems, users have to manage multiple IDs and passwords which make the authentication process cumbersome.

Fujitsu Laboratories has developed technology that enables biometric authentication of a cloud service’s user without extracting biometric information from that user’s smartphone.

The technology establishes a secure network between a cloud service, an IoT device and a smartphone, and then simultaneously verifies the identity of the user and that the user is in front of the IoT device.

With the new technology, users can safely and conveniently access cloud services through a variety of IoT devices without inputting an ID and password, using just their smartphone’s biometric authentication.

In addition, Fujitsu said this technology enables the provision of a strong personal authentication service using biometrics without requiring service providers to manage an individual’s biometric information for each device or service.