NTT DOCOMO Selects Nok Nok Labs to Power First FIDO-Enabled Ecosystem in Japanese Market

PALO ALTO, Calif. and TOKYO, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, today announced that NTT DOCOMO, INC. ("DOCOMO") has selected the NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite to deliver simple and strong authentication to DOCOMO's ecosystem of millions of customers and mobile devices, to deliver carrier-scale services.  DOCOMO customers can now access online services from DOCOMO and other companies more simply and securely using biometric authentication such as fingerprint-sensors and iris-recognition from FIDO-enabled smartphones recently announced by Sharp, Fujitsu and Samsung.

As the largest mobile service provider in Japan, DOCOMO serves more than 65 million customers. In addition to delivering advanced wireless networks, DOCOMO has been at the forefront of innovation in the wireless carrier market and is a leading developer of NFC infrastructure and services, emerging IoT solutions, and more.   

By adopting and deploying FIDO certified solutions from Nok Nok Labs, DOCOMO has achieved an industry milestone by becoming:

• the first carrier to offer a billing system that is enabled by the FIDO Ecosystem - users will enjoy streamlined online shopping by using FIDO authentication with DOCOMO partners to purchase goods and services, and the purchase will appear on the customer's DOCOMO monthly invoice.
• the first company to offer a Federated Identity system integrated with the FIDO Ecosystem – docomo ID is a federated identity service that allows the user to access many of its consumer services with one ID, thus streamlining the authentication process and eliminating multiple authentication steps.
• the first to jointly launch a FIDO ecosystem with multiple mobile device manufacturers - the Fujitsu ARROWS F-04G, Sharp AQUOS SH-03 and Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge all come preloaded with docomo ID and FIDO-support, marking the first time that a carrier has launched multiple FIDO devices from different OEMs at the same time.  
• the first to offer a mobile device (Fujitsu ARROWS F-04G) that authenticates via the iris biometric modality - previous deployments have used the fingerprint sensor (FPS).

"Enhanced identity and authentication services are necessary to compete for today's customers.  DOCOMO's visionary commitment to simple and strong authentication is a milestone in the journey to drive secure and convenient online authentication on a global scale," said Phillip Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "DOCOMO is a leader and innovator in the market, paving the way for other carriers and companies in Japan, and around the world, to follow their lead in adopting modern authentication solutions as a key foundation for their business initiatives and services support. Their decision to use Nok Nok Labs' products validates our vision for strong authentication online and is a true inflection point in increasing security across the global online ecosystem."

"By eliminating passwords with Nok Nok Labs' FIDO-certified solution, we are able to deliver a superior end-user experience that includes enhanced security features; we will also be able to introduce innovative new services and product offerings that are able to utilize this same standards-based platform," said Seiji Maruyama, Vice President, Managing Director, Product Department at NTT DOCOMO, INC., After reviewing the different approaches to authentication available today, we settled on the FIDO standards and Nok Nok Labs' solution as the right strategy for solving the current and future authentication needs of our customers. We determined that Nok Nok Labs had the best solution and a vision that is aligned with ours. We have been very pleased with the technology and support we've received from Nok Nok Labs, and we look forward to a long-lasting partnership."

Nok Nok Labs is one of six founding members of The FIDO Alliance, which was launched in February 2013. The FIDO Alliance now has nearly 200 members worldwide representing the modern computing ecosystem of PC and mobile devices, chipsets, banking and payment services, operating systems, authentication technology, healthcare and many more.  The FIDO Alliance's new standards bring four key benefits – lower implementation costs, strong consumer privacy, end-to-end security enhancements and reduced user friction.

"DOCOMO's adoption of FIDO specifications opens up a huge opportunity in the Japanese market for customers to benefit not only from more secure authentication, but also from a more streamlined process with the federated identity DOCOMO is offering," said Brett McDowell, Executive Director, The FIDO Alliance. "This FIDO implementation, the first by a wireless carrier in partnership with our co-founding member Nok Nok Labs, helps drive our efforts in a major market, and sets the stage for other carriers around the world to follow their lead."

About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO provides innovative, convenient and secure mobile services that enable smarter living for each customer. The company serves over 65 million mobile customers in Japan via advanced wireless networks, including a nationwide LTE network and one of the world's most progressive LTE-Advanced networks. DOCOMO is a leading developer of a 5G network that it plans to deploy by 2020, as well as network function virtualization (NFV), NFC infrastructure and services, emerging IoT solutions, and more. Outside Japan, the company is providing technical and operational expertise to seven mobile operators and other partner companies, and is contributing to the global standardization of all-new mobile technologies. DOCOMO is listed on stock exchanges in Tokyo (9437) and New York (DCM). Please visit www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english.

About Nok Nok Labs
Nok Nok Labs enables infrastructure for strong, FIDO-based authentication to organizations with mobile and web applications.  The Nok Nok Labs™ S3 Authentication Suite software helps organizations to quickly accelerate revenues, reduce fraud, and improve security. Nok Nok Labs is a founding member of the FIDO Alliance with customers including PayPal and Alipay.  For more information, visit www.noknok.com.

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