Iris Biometrics Leader EyeLock Joins the FIDO Alliance to Help Identify More Secure Replacement for Usernames and Passwords

NEW YORK, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- EyeLock Inc., a market leader of iris-based identity authentication solutions, today announced that the company has joined the Fast IDentity Online Alliance (FIDO), to spearhead an initiative to create a safer and more secure digital presence for consumers. 

EyeLock will collaborate with Alliance members including Google, PayPal, Lenovo, NXP, Nok Nok Labs and Validity, among others, to identify and set a strategy on how to eliminate consumers' reliance on passwords. This initiative will focus on creating an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms to easily and securely authenticate users of online services.

EyeLock has created a suite of iris biometric technology products that can be used to accurately, efficiently and securely authenticate identities in both physical and logical environments. Second only to DNA, the iris is the most accurate method of trusted identity authentication. The iris provides a rich matrix of complex, stable and accurate characteristics which EyeLock uniquely translates into a highly scalable instantaneous and reliable method of obtaining identity certainty.

Iris based technology can be used to effectively replace traditional means of digital authentication including vulnerable usernames, passwords and PINS. Currently, consumers rely on these traditional methods of identity authentication to secure their online lives including financial, social and other digital transactions, leaving them at risk for identity theft and hacking. The FIDO Alliance is dedicated to eradicating these issues.

The FIDO Alliance was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The Alliance plans to change the nature of authentication by developing standards-based specifications that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that supplant reliance on passwords to easily and securely authenticate users of online services. As a sponsor of the FIDO Alliance, EyeLock will help support and define solutions for the Alliance's mission to prevent online theft and fraud.

"Identity theft and data breaches resulting from compromised usernames and passwords occur with increasing frequency and they are costing the nation, and consumers, billions of dollars each year. These incidents erode trust, limit e-commerce potential, and make us feel unsafe online," said Anthony Antolino, Chief Marketing Officer of EyeLock. "The current authentication model of usernames and passwords to secure our most important, private data has not kept pace with the rate of change in technology that is fueling our increasingly digital lifestyles."

Antolino continued, "EyeLock's iris-based technology transforms the way we authenticate identities. It is rapidly proliferating the market and will play a significant role in providing consumers with the trusted identity they need to feel secure online. We look forward to working closely with the FIDO Alliance to create a safer online world for consumers."

"In today's environment, usernames and passwords seem to be creating more problems than they solve. They are not strong enough to fend off sophisticated cyber-attacks that increasingly pose a threat to our personal online identities as well as our country's e-commerce infrastructure," said Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO Alliance and PayPal CISO. "We are confident that understanding more about EyeLock's iris identity authentication technology will help inform the Alliance, its members, and ultimately the general public that there is a better way to secure our information than usernames and passwords, and that alternatives such as biometrics can ultimately make the internet a safer place."

About The FIDO Alliance

The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The Alliance plans to change the nature of authentication by developing standards-based specifications that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that supplant reliance on passwords to easily and securely authenticate users of online services.

About EyeLock Inc.

EyeLock Inc. is a leading technology provider of iris-based identity authentication products and technology solutions. Transforming the way identities are authenticated and protected, the Company offers a broad suite of breakthrough solutions for the identity management, access control, border control and logical access sectors.

The proprietary, iris-based identity authentication solutions are cost-effective, scalable and easy-to-use iris recognition systems that operate while a person is in motion and at a distance. EyeLock delivers products and solutions where privacy, convenience and security are synonymous.

Media Contact:
Samantha Wolf
KCSA Strategic Communications
(212) 896-1220
[email protected]

SOURCE EyeLock Inc.