In honor of World Password Day, we’ve seen a number of tech giants come forward and unite for a cause that’s designed for the betterment of all users.
To be more specific, we’re referring to Google, Apple, and Microsoft gearing up to get one step ahead of all others in terms of passwordless sign-in technology. After all, it’s high time we bid passwords a farewell as a hype relating to the past.
On Thursday, all three major companies announced their decision regarding the commitment and how they were very keen on supporting these types of sign-ins for all of their platforms. But we won’t be seeing them come into effect before next year.
Therefore, authentication without the use of passwords will soon be something users can cherish in the future, and that includes both iOS and Android systems, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and of course the related macOS/Windows desktops.
Apple’s head of product marketing, Kurt Knight says the company is looking forward to the initiative as Apple always wants its products to be the most secure, along with being intuitive simultaneously. Therefore, Apple is very keen on this exciting and innovative sign-in technology that gives users more safety while eliminating the drawbacks associated with passwords. Knight concluded by stating how the firm’s ultimate target was ensuring users’ data was secure.
But what does a passwordless sign-in actually entail? Well, Google shed light on this aspect through one of its recently published blog posts. Here is where they mentioned how users would be allowed to keep their smartphone devices as the main points for authentication for all their digital services.
Therefore, whenever their smartphones are unlocked, they’ll be given the chance to sign in to the web without the password hassle because now, they’ll be using a passkey. In case you’re wondering what that is, well, it’s another modern term reserved for cryptographic tokens. These will only undergo sharing from the users’ devices and the designated website of choice.
See, the main goal here is to focus on logins made on a single device, making the entire process easy, simple, and secure. Hence, gone are the days when users were forced to remember tiny details to gain entry across a number of services. Moreover, this new method also rids the risks associated with using the same password over and over again through multiple platforms.
In terms of other benefits, well, hackers will also find it harder to bypass the added measure of security. Hence, those willing to compromise the login information won’t be able to do so remotely as you need an actual device to gain entry. Let’s not forget the added benefit of lowered phishing attacks as the process of password capture isn’t going to be simple.
On the other hand, the vice president of Microsoft says the new method for logins is great as it offers compatibility in a number of different areas. No matter what device you have or which browser you prefer, you’ll gain easy access to any of your desired services.
This is all happening thanks to FIDO which is the standard that effectively makes use of public keys and their cryptography. Any user can store the passkey and then use it for multi-functional purposes across their devices. The only requirement is that your smartphone must be unlocked. And as Google mentioned, users can even go as far as syncing their phones from backup sources like Cloud, in case they lose their phones.
In the recent past, we saw a number of different apps make use of FIDO technology but they needed an initial password at the start and that made them all the more vulnerable to hackers and phishing attempts.
This attempt at killing passwords in its entirety looks promising and we’re glad it’s finally coming into play.
Read next: Google Introduces New Features To Automatically Change Your Passwords Found In Data Breach
To be more specific, we’re referring to Google, Apple, and Microsoft gearing up to get one step ahead of all others in terms of passwordless sign-in technology. After all, it’s high time we bid passwords a farewell as a hype relating to the past.
On Thursday, all three major companies announced their decision regarding the commitment and how they were very keen on supporting these types of sign-ins for all of their platforms. But we won’t be seeing them come into effect before next year.
Therefore, authentication without the use of passwords will soon be something users can cherish in the future, and that includes both iOS and Android systems, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and of course the related macOS/Windows desktops.
Apple’s head of product marketing, Kurt Knight says the company is looking forward to the initiative as Apple always wants its products to be the most secure, along with being intuitive simultaneously. Therefore, Apple is very keen on this exciting and innovative sign-in technology that gives users more safety while eliminating the drawbacks associated with passwords. Knight concluded by stating how the firm’s ultimate target was ensuring users’ data was secure.
But what does a passwordless sign-in actually entail? Well, Google shed light on this aspect through one of its recently published blog posts. Here is where they mentioned how users would be allowed to keep their smartphone devices as the main points for authentication for all their digital services.
Therefore, whenever their smartphones are unlocked, they’ll be given the chance to sign in to the web without the password hassle because now, they’ll be using a passkey. In case you’re wondering what that is, well, it’s another modern term reserved for cryptographic tokens. These will only undergo sharing from the users’ devices and the designated website of choice.
See, the main goal here is to focus on logins made on a single device, making the entire process easy, simple, and secure. Hence, gone are the days when users were forced to remember tiny details to gain entry across a number of services. Moreover, this new method also rids the risks associated with using the same password over and over again through multiple platforms.
In terms of other benefits, well, hackers will also find it harder to bypass the added measure of security. Hence, those willing to compromise the login information won’t be able to do so remotely as you need an actual device to gain entry. Let’s not forget the added benefit of lowered phishing attacks as the process of password capture isn’t going to be simple.
On the other hand, the vice president of Microsoft says the new method for logins is great as it offers compatibility in a number of different areas. No matter what device you have or which browser you prefer, you’ll gain easy access to any of your desired services.
This is all happening thanks to FIDO which is the standard that effectively makes use of public keys and their cryptography. Any user can store the passkey and then use it for multi-functional purposes across their devices. The only requirement is that your smartphone must be unlocked. And as Google mentioned, users can even go as far as syncing their phones from backup sources like Cloud, in case they lose their phones.
In the recent past, we saw a number of different apps make use of FIDO technology but they needed an initial password at the start and that made them all the more vulnerable to hackers and phishing attempts.
This attempt at killing passwords in its entirety looks promising and we’re glad it’s finally coming into play.
Read next: Google Introduces New Features To Automatically Change Your Passwords Found In Data Breach
