The first Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Device Onboard (FDO) seminar, hosted by Academia Sinica, was held yesterday in Taipei, highlighting Taiwan’s status as a hub for the global tech supply chain.
Taiwan’s promotion of “information security equates to national security” aligns with the prevalence of the “zero trust” concept among other foreign governments, as all governments and companies seek to develop more secure networks and systems.
Zero Trust is a security framework that requires all users to be authenticated, authorized and continuously validated for security configuration and posture.
Photo: courtesy of the FIDO Alliance Taiwan Engagement Forum
FIDO Alliance members Intel, Dell, Qualcomm, ARM, Amazon, Google and Microsoft have recently jointly completed a proof of concept of a new technology that would help the FIDO Alliance promote a certification program that would encourage all supply chain owners around the globe to begin focusing on Internet of Things (IoT) security.
FIDO Alliance FDO project manager Richard Kerslake yesterday said that as IoT solutions become commonplace, including in factories, hospitals, vehicle platforms and even stores, the urgency of developing a safe, effective and standardized procedure to connect them to central management platforms is growing.
FDO technology meets these demands and provides a nearly universally adaptable, automated, safe and “plug and use” method for connecting devices with the managing platform, he said.
With FDO, the information security risks generated by the need for preset passwords to activate devices or passwords for engineers in the event of malfunctioning units are largely removed, he said.
Taiwan’s information security sector has always been at the world’s forefront, FIDO Taiwan Engagement Forum Chair and Egis Technology vice president Karen Chang (張心玲) said, adding that she hoped the FIDO branch would bring together all FIDO groups in Taiwan to form a healthier ecosystem and bring in more domestic industry owners to jointly safeguard information security for the global supply chain.
Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Information Technology Innovation research fellow Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男) said that, as a FIDO Alliance member, Academia Sinica would work closely with the Ministry of Digital Affairs to realize a safer digital environment.
The ministry is committed to implementing the “zero trust’ concept when promoting FIDO identification technology, Administration for Digital Industries Director-General Leu Jang-hwa (呂正華) said.
Applauding FIDO’s goal of implementing its FDO technology in the IoT sector, Leu said that he expected it to see great applications in the manufacturing, retail and medical industries.
Safeguarding the IoT sector would ensure greater digital resilience and prove to be a big boost to the development of the information security industry, he said.
Intel, Dell, Infineone, Red Hat, VinCSS from Vietnam and other significant players in the tech industry participated in yesterday’s event.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs joined the FIDO alliance last year, making it the seventh government unit to join the organization and the second in the country.
Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) last year said that since its inauguration in August 2022, the ministry has been focusing on tightening security for online identification and electronic signatures.
Tang said that Taiwan joining the FIDO Alliance would allow it to implement FIDO standards across government agencies and the financial sector, and broaden the application of such standards to other industries.
The ministry would participate in FIDO forums on tech standards and evaluate how the technologies discussed can be applied in government, the corporate sector and among base-level consumers, Tang said.
FIDO Alliance members include financial institutions, credit card companies, information and network service providers, semiconductors and software and hardware manufacturers.
Its 39 board members include Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon, PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Intel, NTT Docomo, Line, Samsung and Egis.
FIDO aims to allow users to sign into systems and platforms using phishing-resistant credentials, or passkeys, that can be synced across multiple devices or bound to a singular platform or security key.
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