Thales introduces new FIDO lifecycle management solution

Thales has announced the launch of its new OneWelcome FIDO Key Lifecycle Management solution to aid large organisations in successfully deploying and managing FIDO security passkeys at scale.

The OneWelcome FIDO Key Lifecycle Management solution combines an interoperable management platform with Thales hardware FIDO security keys, designed for extensive use in large organisations. This development aims to assist Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in managing FIDO security keys efficiently throughout their lifecycle, facilitating a simpler and more effective transition to passwordless authentication.

Danny de Vreeze, Vice President, Identity & Access Management at Thales, commented: "Authentication is at the heart of securing identities and we are committed to supporting organisations securely transition to passwordless authentication. This solution eliminates the barriers to smooth adoption and enables IT teams to easily manage FIDO security keys beyond just the enrollment. The OneWelcome FIDO Key Lifecycle Management solution is a crucial part of our Passwordless 360° approach that encourages organisations to deploy passwordless at scale and reap its strategic benefits."

FIDO security keys are widely regarded as a robust defence against phishing attacks, but the associated processes of self-registration and lifecycle management can present challenges. These can result in user dissatisfaction, increased IT workloads, and delays in deploying passwordless authentication. The new solution addresses these issues by allowing IT teams to preregister keys, manage them efficiently from enrollment to revocation, and thereby enhance end-user productivity and accelerate FIDO authentication deployment.

Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director and CEO at The FIDO Alliance, said: "The FIDO Alliance's mission is to reduce the world's reliance on passwords with simpler, stronger authentication. As an active board member of The FIDO Alliance, Thales underscores that mission by supporting a wider deployment of FIDO standards via its device-bound passkey Management Solution – with the added bonus of full key lifecycle management."

The interoperable management platform integrates through FIDO2 provisioning APIs with Microsoft Entra ID, which allows organisations to preregister Thales FIDO keys for their end users. This integration provides companies adopting Microsoft 365 with initial secure and seamless user authentication.

Thales was recognised for its role in identity and access management by winning the Identity Trailblazer award at the 2024 Microsoft Security Excellence Awards. Natee Pretikul, Principal Product Management Lead at Microsoft Security, said: "With FIDO2 provisioning APIs and our longstanding collaboration with Thales, we are empowering organisations to deploy phishing-resistant authentication at scale. By pre-registering end users for a passkey (FIDO2) credential, we enable them to use phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication methods more quickly."

The launch of this solution highlights Thales's dedication to supporting organisations in meeting modern security challenges and its contribution to promoting the adoption of passwordless authentication standards across industries.