Today, the FIDO Alliance is pleased to welcome Feitian Technologies to its Board of Directors. In this Q&A with the company’s board representative, Tibi Zhang, Managing Director of International Business, the FIDO Alliance learns how Feitian plans to drive FIDO authentication forward in China and the rest of the world.
Why did Feitian decide to upgrade its membership from Sponsor to join the FIDO Board of Directors? What benefits will this bring to Feitian?
Feitian is excited to ascend to the FIDO Board of Directors in order to not only demonstrate our commitment to the organization, but also to help accelerate the deployment of FIDO-based solutions to new regions in the world. As a board member, Feitian aims to organize some FIDO-related events in these target areas. Also, we will be able to use our deep understanding of the Chinese security industry to help set the strategic direction of FIDO in China.
What products does Feitian have today that support FIDO specifications? Are there plans for future products?Feitian is an innovative technology company, and we have been committed to sustaining innovations and developing various new security hardware. We’ve been closely following key trends in the security market and are constantly trying to put emerging new technologies into products that support the FIDO specifications. In a recent example, we combined the BLE smart card technology and the latest FIDO U2F specification to produce a powerful BLE FIDO U2F authenticator featuring both token and card form factors.
We also think that biometric authentication that uses the smartphone touch sensor and camera is important for the future of authentication, and Feitian has already developed software products based on the FIDO UAF standard for a passwordless experience.
Could Feitian share its perspectives on how the authentication market has evolved? What kind of role do you think FIDO standards will play in the future?
Feitian has been focused on global markets for several years now and has witnessed how the authentication landscape has developed and evolved. People no longer believe that passwords alone are enough to protect data from the threats of phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, malware, etc. As a result, Public Key Infrastructure, One Time Password and other multi-factor authentication products emerged to combat these threats. But companies and consumers are now tired of the complexities associated with using these “traditional” approaches. Feitian needed to find a new solution to fulfill these market requirements, and the FIDO specifications meet this need. We think that FIDO standards are the technical foundation that the authentication market needs because it balances security and usability.
What will Feitian do to promote FIDO adoption worldwide and in China?
Feitian has over a decade of experience providing security-related services, especially in banking, e-commerce, and government. We are very happy to share the experiences that we have accumulated in banking and e-commerce areas to all of the FIDO Alliance members in order to speed up the use of FIDO in global e-commercial applications. As a Board member of the FIDO Alliance, Feitian can bring the latest standards, applications and methods to the Chinese market and continue to be a powerful force in helping spread FIDO-based authentication worldwide. Feitian will also actively participate in the FIDO China Working Group and work together with other Chinese FIDO Alliance members.
In what ways do you believe your company can help FIDO Alliance successfully fulfill its mission?
Feitian has a deep understanding of the security and usability requirements for strong authentication in APAC and beyond. There is a very strong consistency between Feitian’s market strategy and the FIDO Alliance mission.
Feitian has many valuable customers in banking, enterprise, government and other fields. The leading market share and high brand trust of Feitian provide solid bases, strong support, and great opportunity for spreading the FIDO standard into our pre-existing and rapidly developing customer base.
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