Developers struggling with the challenge of building an authentication system for their apps can use Google’s new Firebase Authentication, which allows them to outsource their entire authentication system to Firebase so they can concentrate on building features for their apps.
Firebase Authentication allows developers to get their users signed in quickly, without having to understand the complex details behind building an authentication system. There are optional UX components, which are designed to minimize user friction. It’s also built on open standards and backed by Google’s infrastructure.
To implement Firebase Authentication, developers can choose from login methods that they want to offer (like Facebook, Google and Twitter, or with an e-mail), and then add the Firebase SDK to their app, according to a Google blog post.
Firebase Authentication also includes an open-source UI library that streamlines building the many auth flows required to give users a good experience. Password resets, account linking and login hints that reduce the cognitive load around multiple login choices are all pre-built with Firebase Authentication UI, according to Google.
Sighthound software for iOS
Sighthound has announced that it has ported advanced facial-recognition software to mobile platforms, allowing it to run on iPhones and iPads with no cloud access required.
Sighthound will demonstrate face detection, recognition and tracking software running on iPhone 6 and iPad Pro at the CVPR conference in Las Vegas. The software is able to perform real-time recognition on live video feeds, and is not restricted to still images or locked inside Apple applications, according to the company. This software is designed for OEMs and developers interested in incorporating individual identification and verification features in their products and applications.
The face detection, recognition and tracking software is the latest addition to the Sighthound Sentry suite of computer vision capabilities.
Intel options for Intel Security
Intel might sell the antivirus software maker formerly known as McAfee, which it bought six years ago for US$7.7 billion, according to the Financial Times.
Intel “has been talking to bankers about the future of its cybersecurity unit in a deal that would be one of the largest in the sector,” according to the FT report. A group of private equity firms might join together to buy Intel Security if it were sold for either the same price or higher than what Intel originally paid.
After Intel cut jobs in its largest workforce reduction in a decade, “The company has been trying to refocus around selling its chips for cloud computing instead of PCs, which still contribute 60% of sales and 40% of profits,” according to the report.
