OpenUAS is an open, vendor-neutral authentication system designed to replace password-based login with a secure, phishing-resistant, and human-friendly alternative.
It is not a product. It is not a platform. It is a public digital infrastructure.
Passwords dominate the internet despite being fundamentally broken.
They are:
- reused across services
- easily phished
- leaked in large-scale breaches
- incompatible with human behavior
At the same time, identity is increasingly centralized under a small number of large providers, creating systemic risks, power concentration, and single points of failure.
OpenUAS exists to solve this problem at its root.
OpenUAS defines a universal authentication protocol that is:
- Phishing-resistant by design
- Passwordless and secret-free
- Privacy-preserving (no cross-service tracking)
- Usable by non-technical users
- Compatible with web and native applications
- Independent from centralized identity providers
- Open-source and publicly auditable
Authentication is based on cryptographic proof of possession, not on knowledge of secrets.
OpenUAS is intentionally limited in scope.
It does NOT:
- manage user identities or personal data
- provide authorization or access control
- act as a login provider or intermediary
- require proprietary platforms or services
- replace existing applications or protocols
OpenUAS focuses exclusively on authentication.
OpenUAS is built on a small set of immutable principles:
- No shared secrets (no passwords, no reusable OTPs)
- Phishing resistance by default
- User-controlled, non-exportable cryptographic roots
- Per-service cryptographic isolation
- Minimal core, explicit extensions
- Secure recovery as a first-class requirement
- Transparency over authority
- Forking allowed, compatibility earned
- Governance designed to prevent capture
These principles are defined in detail in
docs/IMMUTABLE_RULES.md.
At a high level, OpenUAS works as follows:
- The user authenticates locally using a secure, non-exportable cryptographic root (hardware-backed when available).
- For each service, unique cryptographic material is generated or derived.
- Authentication is performed via challenge–response proofs bound to the service identifier.
- No shared secrets are transmitted or stored.
- Servers verify proofs using public keys only.
Optional registry components may be used for discovery, anchoring, or transparency, but are not required for authentication.
OpenUAS is governed by rules, not by owners.
- The specification is open and public
- Multiple independent implementations are encouraged
- Compatibility is defined by conformance tests
- No single individual or organization controls the system
- Governance roles are limited, transparent, and rotatable
See docs/OPEN_UAS_VISION.md for the full vision and
philosophy.
OpenUAS is in an early design phase.
Current focus:
- defining immutable principles
- establishing governance foundations
- designing a minimal, robust core protocol
No production-ready implementation exists yet.
OpenUAS is for:
- developers and security engineers
- researchers and protocol designers
- organizations seeking strong authentication without vendor lock-in
- anyone interested in improving global digital security
OpenUAS welcomes contributions aligned with its principles.
At this stage, the most valuable contributions are:
- design reviews
- threat modeling
- governance feedback
- protocol critique
Code contributions will be invited once the core design stabilizes.
OpenUAS specifications and reference materials are released under the MIT License.
See LICENSE.
OpenUAS aims to make strong authentication universal, invisible, and boring.
Its success will not be measured by market share, but by a future where passwords are no longer necessary.
- Immutable Rules
- Vision
- Core Model
- Threat Model
- Technical Design
- Authentication Flow
- Recovery Model
- Registry Model
- Specification v0.1
OpenUAS was initiated by Luigi De Astis as an open effort to design a phishing-resistant, privacy-preserving authentication system intended as public digital infrastructure.
The project is governed by transparent rules and is not owned or controlled by any individual or organization.