Recently, Apple announced in May that it would eliminate the password to introduce an alternative, the Passkey. This Passkey will roll out with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. Developers, enthusiasts, and users worldwide are excited to finally experience this innovative new feature.
However, Apple’s highly effective marketing has stirred up some confusion. Most people assume that Passkey is a technology exclusive to Apple products and their latest software updates; however, this is not true.
Using a Passkey
Apple’s widespread branding, hype, and excellent marketing make it tough to distinguish their technologies from others, and this phenomenon also impacts the public perception of Passkey.
In reality, Passkey is an innovative feature that will get implemented by major players in the tech sector including Apple, Google, and Microsoft in a unified effort. They aim to increase online security across the board. The main reason Apple has been so aggressive with its promotion of the Passkey is to spread the message as far as possible.
Google and Microsoft are just as eager to market and spread the introduction of Passkey and how it works so that more people are aware of this new password replacement. The more businesses and people switch to Passkey, the safer the internet and online communities become.
These tech giants must market this new shift and implement Passkey in their upcoming products, software, and services. Widespread adoption of Passkey will result in a safer and better online experience.
How Passkey Works
Passkeys is the new name for a password technology called FIDO authentication among cyber professionals and experts. It is a simple solution that lets users sign into a website or application using just their login information or username.
With a Passkey implementation, users can only log in with an individual’s pre-authenticated device, which will most likely be their smartphone. Upon opening a website or app and entering the username, your device will produce a cryptographic token, creating the other half of a cryptographic key pair.
Once the pair match correctly, the device will grants you access to the website or application you want to use. The great thing about this process is that when you want to log in to an account, you simply use your smartphone to authenticate your ID.
Therefore, Passkey will allow you to unlock any account with your pre-authenticated device, using your PIN or biometric like fingerprint or face, as long as your pre-authenticated device is in the range of the login device’s Bluetooth.
Why It’s Useful
With Passkey, users won’t have to remember every other password to log into various accounts. Besides this benefit, they give users excellent cyber security benefits.
It allows you to secure your account passwords from hackers and cybercriminals. The cryptographic token is not seen by you or anyone else, which makes it far more difficult for your account or login details to get stolen.
Typical cyber attack methods like phishing emails, key logs, brute force attacks, etc., will not work on Passkey. Users get great protection since these attacks don’t involve keystrokes or displayed passwords anywhere when you sign in. Since your pre-authenticated device is the only way to create the other half of the cryptographic key pair, cybercriminals need your device to log in to your accounts.
This layer of protection prevents remote cyber attacks and makes hacking nearly impossible.
Conclusion
Passkey is an excellent way to protect personal and business accounts from remote hackers and cybercriminals. It is truly a game changer that will impact global cyber security significantly. No wonder all these tech giants are keen on promoting it and making a joint effort to roll it out in their latest developments.
Programs like Windows Hello are already supporting it. As Apple rolls out iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, more people and businesses will have access to Passkey. All the tech giants, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, will soon roll out Passkey support across all their products.
If you want to learn more about password protection or ensure improved cyber security for your business, please call us at 919-263-5570 or click here to schedule a time to talk!
