Is It Time to for More Secure Passkeys to replace Passwords?

Passwords are the most common method of authentication and protecting your account, but they are also one of the easiest to compromise. Users often use the same password on many different accounts, which makes then easy to steal, and they are regularly easy to guess. This then makes the account makes the account susceptible to cyber attacks.

Because the amount of passwords people need to remember is continually growing, it becomes tempting to create weak passwords or record and store them insecurely.

The vast majority of account breaches can be attributed to hacked or stolen login passwords

More recently, Passkeys have become more popular given they’re more secure than passwords, and they’re often more convenient.

What are Passkeys?

Passkeys are code that’s are generated when you login, this code allows for a more secure sign in. Passkeys are commonly generated via App on your Smartphone, or piece of physical hardware.

Passkeys can be viewed as a digital credential, the Passkey allows you to access your online account or service - such as Web account.

The one-time codes are generated securely via an Authentication Key, commonly stored in an App on your Smartphone, your computer, or a small piece of physical hardware.

Passkeys vs Passwords - what are the advantages?

Better Security

The main advantage of Passkeys is that by their nature they are much more secure than passwords alone, because they are difficult to hack. If the keys are generated via Smartphone with Biometric security, this makes then even more secure, similarly information from the Device such as the location or MAC address also assists greatly. Devices secured by Fingerprint or Face ID are examples of Biometric security.

This extra layer of security makes it much more difficult for a hacker to obtain your credentials and breach your account.

Convenient

Passkeys can also be much more convenient. When they are used by themselves user logins are much quicker and easier, whilst also being more secure.

Complex passwords are easy to forget, and often leads to users having to do a reset to access their account - the average time to reset a password is over 3 minutes.

This problem is solved by a single Passkey, than can be used in all of your web accounts.

Protection from Phishing

Phishing attempts are increasingly common, users are sent emails from scammers that looks genuine but are designed to steal their credentials , such as their password.

When logging in with a Passkey, such scams are ineffective - even if the password is compromised, without the device the hacker still needs the Passkey authentication from the device.

Disadvantages of Using Passkeys?

Passkeys definitely look like the future, however it will take some time for all web sites to be upgraded to use Passkeys, so it will take sometime before they become commonplace.

Passkeys Will Take Time to Become Commonplace

It is going to take a while for all websites to start using Passkeys, and for now many websites and webapps will still utilise a combination of username and password.

Until Passkeys become commonplace, users will have to use passwords on some websites and Passkeys on others.

Passkeys Require Additional Software & Hardware

Whilst a password is free and simple to implement, Passkeys require additional software and hardware to generate codes.

For Businesses, this can be expensive but this can be offset by enhanced security and user satisfaction.

It’s Time to Get Ready for The Improved Authentication

It will take time for Passkeys to become the standard way of authentication your account, but for now they are harder to compromise and more convenient when compared to passwords.

Businesses need to prepare, as they may need to allocate IT budget ready for implementation.

Overall, they can be a great addition to your Businesses Cybersecurity policy.

Are You Ready to Improve Your Users Account Security?

Now is the ideal time to begin exploring Passkey Authentication for your business, and starting to get users ready for new methods of logging in.

Chase Tech are ready to help you on this journey, Call us on 01543 624422 to book a no-obligation consulation.