"Passkeys Unlock a New Era for Authentication"
Many people consider computer passwords inconvenient and insecure. Cybercriminals continue cracking and abusing them to perform malicious activities. Industry estimates reveal that almost 80 percent of all breaches involve passwords. Even the most advanced multifactor authentication (MFA) cannot solve the underlying issue. Highly determined cybercriminals have used social engineering to gain access to accounts. According to Chester Wisniewski, CTO of Applied Research at Sophos, there is a potential to move forward through more advanced passkey technology. Passkeys eliminate passwords, and even though they do not provide a silver bullet solution to cyberattacks, they provide a much more convenient and secure framework for navigating the digital world. Rik Turner, principal analyst at Omdia, points out that passkey technology is the most effective way to make computers safer. Over the next few years, the prevalence of passkeys is expected to increase. Passkeys will likely become the de facto standard for both businesses and consumers, according to Turner. Although it may solve the age-old issue of creating, maintaining, and changing inherently insecure passwords, the technology may change the overall cybersecurity environment. If passkeys grow more prevalent, attackers may seek methods to take data from browsers and devices after the authentication process is complete. According to Turner, there may also be an emphasis on post-authorization. Wisniewski suggests that cookie theft, a rising problem that enables hackers to impersonate users, could grow. Turner notes that a potential disadvantage of passkeys is that, at least for the time being, they cannot be automatically transferred across devices on different platforms. This article continues to discuss experts' insights on passkey adoption, its advantages, and potential downsides.