October 20, 2023

Passkeys are Coming—Is the End of Passwords Finally Approaching?

Back on May 4, 2023, I wrote a blog about World Password Day which was created by Intel ten years ago as a way to reinforce awareness of the importance of strong passwords. In the blog, I questioned whether this would be the final anniversary celebration as passkeys were starting to come online as an alternative to complex and lengthy passwords.

Passkeys as a Replacement for Passwords

A passkey allows users to log into their accounts using the same pins, biometrics, or physical security keys that are used to unlock the devices. This replaces the traditional, and vulnerable, username/password combination that are susceptible to security attacks that include phishing, credential stuffing, breached passwords, and many more.

Apple was an Early Adopter

Apple rolled out support for passkeys with the release of IOS 16 a little over a year ago for select applications. With the release of IOS 17 last month, Apple has included support for passkeys across applications, including support for Apple ID logins.

Google Jumped On-Board Early as Well

Google first made passkeys available to both its consumer and business users back in May 2023. Just last week, Google announced that it will make passkeys its default sign-in mechanism for all of its users.

Passkey Support is Accelerating

Over the last several months there has been a number of tech giants jumping on-board the passkey bandwagon.

Last month, Microsoft officially included passkey support in Windows Hello with a major update to Windows 11. They also announced that Windows Hello for Business would be available to enterprise-managed Windows 11 devices, bringing passkey support to its enterprise users.

Amazon rolled out passkey support recently as well to its vast consumer shopping user base, and even WhatsApp is rolling out passkey support for its android users.

Bottom Line

It appears that passkeys are taking hold and are certainly gaining traction within the consumer realm. Adoption in the enterprise will most likely lag behind the consumer adoption, however with all the security benefits of passkeys, it’s just a matter of time before passkeys become ubiquitous across consumer and enterprise users alike.

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Passkeys are Coming—Is the End of Passwords Finally Approaching?