W3C logoThe W3C Web Authentication Working Group today announced publication of the First Public Working Draft of the W3C Web Authentication specification. The abstract of the specification is:

This specification defines an API that enables web pages to access WebAuthn compliant strong cryptographic credentials through browser script. Conceptually, one or more credentials are stored on an authenticator, and each credential is scoped to a single Relying Party. Authenticators are responsible for ensuring that no operation is performed without the user’s consent. The user agent mediates access to credentials in order to preserve user privacy. Authenticators use attestation to provide cryptographic proof of their properties to the relying party. This specification also describes a functional model of a WebAuthn compliant authenticator, including its signature and attestation functionality.

This specification is derived from the November 12, 2015 member submission of FIDO 2.0 Platform Specifications. Content from the three submitted specifications has been merged into a single Web Authentication specification, also incorporating changes agreed to by the Web Authentication working group. The working group intends to continue making timely progress, planning to publish a Candidate Recommendation by September 2016.