[Money20/20] FIDO's Brett McDowell Talks FIDO2 and Biometrics

The FIDO Alliance has had a very big year, in no small part thanks to its launch of the FIDO2 authentication standard and its launch of the Biometric Component Certification Program. These are major developments for the identity industry as a whole, setting the stage for broad implementation of stronger authentication security, and with digital identity now of such vital importance in financial services, it’s no surprise to have found FIDO Alliance Executive Director Brett McDowell in attendance at this year’s Money20/20 event in Las Vegas, and indeed discussing FIDO’s work from the stage in an interview with financial services expert David Birch.

McDowell was also happy to talk about FIDO’s work with FindBiometrics Managing Editor Peter Counter on the show floor, in an in-depth discussion that encompassed a range of topics including how close the industry has now come to mass adoption of FIDO standards, FIDO2’s support from Microsoft and even Apple, and the importance of multimodal support. And as in his on-stage interview, McDowell was keen to emphasize the ease with which FIDO standards can now be implemented; “You don’t have to go to FIDO University to figure out how to do this,” he said.