Open sesame
Mozilla has revealed a new authentication system, which it calls BrowserID, which to enable users to log into multiple websites using a single sign-in. The idea isn't new, but the implementation is interesting, as it piggybacks on email to provide user identities - a move aimed at improving ease of use.
The current implementation uses simple HTML and JavasScript, so will run in just about any browser - however, in the future Mozilla sees integration with the browser itself - hence BrowserID - with identities shared across browsers on different systems using cloud syncing solutions.
The system is similar to other universal login options such as OpenID in that it decouples the authentication of users from the website they are visiting, so that one login identity can be used across multiple sites. Where BrowserID is different, however, is its use of email addresses as its means of identifying users.
The reasoning behind this is simple: email is a system that is well understood to represent an identity on the Internet already, so an authentication system tacked onto email is easily understood by even the most un-tech savvy users. Conversely, OpenID and its contemporaries, says Mozilla, can prove confusing and difficult for the less technically adept user to grasp.
Mozilla is also keep to highlight the decentralised nature of BrowserID. Although growserid.org acts as an authentication backend, verifying that users own the emails they are attempting to sign into sites with, there's no requirement to use it. A third party authentication server can be used - a long as it is supported by the website a user is trying to log in to.
Although this could prove a problem for small entities, if a large email provider such as Google put its support behind BrowserID, it could greatly increase both the simplicity and proliferation of the service. It's worth noting that Google already offers federated logins using OpenID so it's not adverse to the concept.
It will be interesting to see if Mozilla can succeed in popularising a decentralised login system, where so many others have failed (or at least not enjoyed widespread success).
