Nok Nok Labs Introduces Strong Authentication for IoT Devices – Standalone and Connected to Cloud Services

Nok Nok Labs, a trusted leader in passwordless consumer authentication, today announced the “Nok Nok IoT SDK,” as the industry’s first multi-factor, strong authentication solution with support for both standalone IoT devices and IoT devices connected to a cloud service utilizing the Nok Nok S3 Authentication Suite.

International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that there will be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices, or “things,” generating 79.4 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025. This data holds valuable information about entry/egress times of employees at work, heart rate, car location, who is at the front door, transactions made through smart home speakers and more – all of which need strong security in a connected IoT device world. As the deployment and use of cloud-connected, data collecting IoT devices continues, the use of username-password authentication methodologies rapidly become obsolete, because they are not secure, scalable nor convenient.

The Nok Nok IoT SDK enables organizations to provide flexible, easy-to-use, and secure user-to-device authentication leveraging Nok Nok’s unique legacy in providing passwordless customer authentication across mobile applications, mobile Web, desktop Web and smart watches. The Nok Nok IoT SDK:

• Can easily run on existing microcontroller units (MCUs).
• Meets security industry standards and global regulatory requirements that specify “no (shared) default passwords.”
• Provides a practical way to implement MFA for devices that is more convenient than passwords.
• Supports standalone and cloud connected devices.
• Provides convenient and secure authentication with two-factor authentication and supports all biometric modalities.

“As organizations work toward adopting IoT-based solutions to combat the growing wave of breaches in the space, the sheer number of devices that have been introduced to the market has prevented them from keeping up,” noted Thad Peterson, Senior Analyst, Aite Group. “Building a standard inside the device – like the Nok Nok IoT SDK – creates potential for industries like healthcare and manufacturing to secure increasingly remote work environments.”

Additionally, as new IoT devices are introduced, the Nok Nok authentication infrastructure lowers the cost and complexity of integrating new use cases. The Nok Nok S3 platform in combination with the Nok Nok IoT SDK allows organizations to address all their authentication use cases through a single developer API, including mobile applications, mobile and desktop Web applications, applications for wearables, and now IoT devices, with support for FIDO and other global standards.

“Today, many devices contain default passwords that are identical across product lines, and for authenticating users to devices — this is neither secure nor convenient. And, we are just now witnessing the first regulations banning such shared default passwords and promoting the use of individual default passwords or multi-factor authentication,” said Dr. Rolf Lindemann Vice President, Products, of Nok Nok Labs. “As an inventor of FIDO specifications, Nok Nok addresses the need for standards-based authentication solutions, and we can bring this expertise to a new market and avoid repeating the weak username and password authentication practices of the past.”