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There is no getting around the fact that passwords are a pain. While they’re the primary method we use to keep our accounts secure, they’re increasingly easy for hackers to crack or access through data breaches.
Passkeys aim to fix the drawbacks of passwords while also promising to be easier to use and harder to forget. If you haven’t already, it’s time to switch to passkeys, and here’s how you get started.
What Are Passkeys and Why Should You Switch?
As you might already know, passkeys are a way to access your online accounts without using a password. Instead of typing in a password to log in as you usually would, passkeys use another device, such as your phone or laptop, as an authenticator.
This can include anything from a simple PIN to biometric authentication. When using passkeys, you’re authenticated based on your possession of the device, compared to logging in with a specific password.
There are several advantages to this approach. Since no passwords are involved, you can’t be targeted with a phishing attack. Other disadvantages of using a password, like having it stolen, guessed, or cracked by a hacker, also don’t apply. You also don’t need to remember different passwords for different online accounts.
There are tons ofdifferences between passwords and passkeys, and it’s not like there are nodisadvantages to using passwordless authentication, but overall, passkeys are a much more convenient, faster, and more secure way of signing in.
What Sites and Services Use Passkeys?
Passkeys are constantly increasing in popularity and usage, and you can find them on major sites and services, including those from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others.
These three are just a snapshot of the services that now support passkeys (they also happen to be some of the largest tech companies in the world!). But you’ll find passkey support on Amazon, Adobe, Discord, Ebay, Github, LinkedIn, Shopify, WhatsApp, and many more websites and apps. PasskeysWho Supports Passkeysis a great place to find other options.
What Happens if You Lose Your Device?
As you may probably guess, using a physical device as a means of authentication means that you need to possess the device to log into a passkey-enabled service. So, what happens if you lose your device?
The answer depends on how you store your passkeys. Most big tech companies allow users to sync their passkeys between devices or securely store them in the cloud via end-to-end encryption. So, if you lose your phone, you’re able to always restore your passkeys when you get a new one.
However, if you’re using a hardware security key that doesn’t have any backups, or if you choose not to store your passkey online or sync it with another device, you’re out of luck. Yes, using a physical device to log into a digital account is more secure, but it is akin to losing your house keys. Losing your passkeys can mean you won’t be able to log into your account anymore.
Another thing you might be concerned about when using passkeys is that if a thief or hacker gets access to your phone, they might get access to all your online accounts. While that’s technically true, remember that your phone isn’t as easy to get into for someone who doesn’t have your face, fingerprints, or PIN. Even if a hacker bypasses your phone’s authentication, they’ll have to provide biometric authentication or your PIN whenever they try accessing sensitive account settings.
Lastly, all secret passkey information is stored in a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) that’s specifically designed to store secure information in such a way that it’s virtually impenetrable. So you’re able to be pretty sure that as long as your device is locked (which you can even do remotely for both Android and iOS devices), not much information is getting out. Even if someone manages to unlock your phone, they can’t access your account’s credentials.
Why Passkeys Are the Future of Authentication
Any online account, no matter how trivial it might be to you, is a potential target for hackers lurking about on the internet. While passwords have kept us relatively safe so far, they’re far from perfect, not to mention difficult to manage, given the increasing number of online accounts the average person has. Sure,you can use password managersto keep track of your passwords, but that doesn’t protect you from phishing attacks and data breaches.
Passkeys are the future of authentication as more and more online services and physical devices move to use physical means of authentication instead of a string of text that can be guessed, cracked, breached, or otherwise fails to protect your online presence.
