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Say Goodbye to User Name and Password Logins, and Hello to ‘OneID’

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Name: OneID Inc.

Quick Pitch: Goodbye user names and passwords.

Genius Idea: OneID has created single-click login so users don’t have to enter a user name, password, credit card number or billing information. OneID also has no centralized data storage, making it extremely difficult for hackers to access confidential information. Steve Kirsch wants to swap his 352 user names and passwords for a simple single click sign-in.

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur with 30 years’ experience hopes to take the web by storm with his new startup, OneID.

The user name and password model is not only inconvenient, but its security has been increasingly compromised over the years. That’s why Kirsch has created a multi-device verification system free of passwords.

OneID uses a combination of advanced asymmetric cryptography that works to identify a user through multiple electronic devices including computer, cell phone and tablet device. The devices work together to keep a user’s private information protected. The problem with current digital protection methods, according to Kirsch, is that people are sharing their secrets and those secrets are being centrally stored. On a daily basis, Internet users share highly private information including their real identities, user names, passwords and credit card information.

“Until we eliminate the use of shared secrets for authentication, there will never be a satisfactory answer to the question, ‘How do I know I am really safe when l sign on to a website?’” Kirsch said.


Here’s the simple explanation of how OneID works: it verifies a user’s identity via the active device and a control device of the user’s choice. The active device is what the user is using to access the login — a computer, for example. To make a payment or to login to a site, users then click the OneID button.

The computer sends verification to your phone, assuming that is your second device of choice. The user then verifies the login on a second device. The user can also opt to verify with a pin. The pin is a signature verification system rather than a password. The pins are not centrally stored in a database. A hacker can only obtain information that can be used to confirm a user’s identity — basically a lot of useless numbers. Paying for items is easy with OneID because users don’t have to repeatedly enter a credit card number. All data is encrypted and not stored.

Users can manage their devices and information through OneID. Websites that opt to use OneID’s system will store verification codes, which are useless to hackers because those codes don’t contain any secret information.

Kirsch, who has founded five other successful startups, has pitched his idea to the U.S. Treasury and top Fortune 500 companies. OneID is still in beta, but Kirsch thinks it will be the new digital identity standard. The software was recently released for developers’ use. Other companies have tried to eliminate user names and passwords. Facebook’s Connect sign-in button has been adopted by many websites, but some users are wary of signing into websites using their Facebook login because it gives access to demographic information, profile picture, networks, user ID, friends lists and other information.

Another example of a payment sign-in system is PayPal — but Kirsch said OneID is more secure.

“OneID is like what PayPal should have been when it comes to security,” Kirsch said. “We are going to leapfrog PayPal. We are PayPal 4.0.”

Would you use OneID? Tells us in the comments.