NTT Docomo Inc. is the largest mobile phone operator in Japan with over 48 million subscribers to its cellular services. It is a subsidiary of NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) which is the largest telecom in Japan.
NTT Docomo provides its users with cellular phone and mobile internet connectivity, providing a variety of mechanisms to access and manage account services.
The Challenge/ Use Case:
NTT Docomo’s overall goal was to simplify online services access with the initial challenge about making it easier and more secure for users to authenticate into NTT Docomo subscriber services.
It’s a challenge that has led to a multi-phase journey toward improving security and moving toward a passwordless model for user authentication.
How NTT Docomo Uses FIDO To Secure Its Users
In May 2015, NTT Docomo first deployed the FIDO U2F 1.0 specifications across its footprint, providing biometric authentication capabilities for user accounts. That initial rollout involved the use of multiple biometric devices from different device manufacturers. That effort grew over the following years to 36 devices that were available for consumers to enable biometric authentication supported by FIDO U2F 1.0.
NTT Docomo has since moved on to FIDO 2 as it is supported and can run on a wide variety of devices, without the need for specific device customization, as was often the case with the U2F 1.0 specifications. NTT Docomo is now moving toward removing the need for users to enter a password, in order to gain access to services.
“NTT Docomo is on a journey to create a world without passwords,” said Koichi Moriyama, Senior Director of Security Service and Platform at NTT Docomo.
Benefits
By embracing FIDO standards, NTT Docomo has enabled its millions of users to more easily gain access in a more seamless and secure approach.
“We commit to provide simpler, and stronger authentication,”Moriyama said. “We’ve been changing the world not to use passwords and that requires an ecosystem and that is FIDO. We will continue contributing to the ecosystem from Japan to the World.”
Resources
Authenticate 2020 Video: NTT DOCOMO Goes Passwordless
Case Study: Your Security, More Simple
