New portal will allow use of fingerprints instead of passwords

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - If you often forget your passwords for various online accounts, there's a solution on the way. A new portal will allow fingerprint authentication to provide web users with the security they need, without having to remember dozens of complicated passwords. 

The World Wide Web Consortium, the organization that creates Internet standards, has approved a new protocol called Web Authentication. 

The Consortium says that passwords that are stolen, weak, or left as default are to blame for 81% of data breaches. Additionally, multi-factor authentication, a method that sends a temporary code to your mobile device, is still vulnerable to hacking.

So, they partnered with the FIDO Alliance, a group aiming to create standards for stronger authentication. Now, if a site supports the new initiative, login can be achieved through a USB keys, smart devices, or biometrics like facial identification or fingerprinting. 

Web Authentication is already enabled system-wide on ChromeOS and Windows 10, and on most browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.