Security patterns are evolving, and organizations need to balance robust protection with employee . One of the major pain points for end users is passwords – having to handle multiple passwords across hundreds of accounts and websites can led significant discouragement. continuously more, cybersecurity experts are focusing on passwordless authentication – authorizing users to access corporate networks and services without a password while preserving high levels of protection.

Now we will demonstrate the following points:

• What passwordless authentication is.
• The major issues with passwords as they exist now.
• How passwordless authentication solves problems.
• Some best practices for implementation.

 What is Passwordless Authentication?

At a basic level, passwordless authentication allows any user to verify and authenticate without requiring them to produce a password.

Therefore, providing end-users identities can instead be done by using an alternative factor like one-time OTP, hardware token, authenticator apps, biometrics all these methods fall under the umbrella of a proof of possession factor, alternatively, passcode, passphrases, etc.

Besides, you may already be familiar with some types of passwordless from everyday use like logging into your desktop, laptop via Windows Hello or Duo Security or logging into an app using FaceID on iOS, Android fingerprint authentication. Now, you may ask yourself why its gaining traction?

What are the major issues with traditional passwords?

Passwords cause critical problems for end-users and Cybersecurity managers:

1. Every online asset, website account or secure service usually requires a password, which means end-users need to manage and track dozens or more of passwords.
2. Various accounts have different password rules – for example, some may require certain number of letters in uppercase and lowercase, while others may not allow special characters.
3. Remembering passwords is difficult which means they are often reused and extensively duplicated across services, leading to data breaches and security vulnerabilities.
4. Previously credential theft exists on the Dark Web where the bad guys can use them in future attacks.
5. Most of the cybersecurity attacks rely on using passwords to breach organization systems and data.

In simple terms, passwords are essential compromising factor in security. Hence the switch to passwordless authentication.

How to Achieve Passwordless Authentication?

Every organization has its unique requirements for identifying authorized users; from the depth, sensitivity of data, breadth of access, and type of end-users all contribute to authentication rules. Cybersecurity professionals have several approaches for password alternatives:

• Fingerprints devices that can be compared to a known baseline.
• Authentication apps. Such as Duo Security, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator.
• Security Tokens based on public key cryptography.
• Biometrics such as FaceID, fingerprints, voice analysis, or other techniques.

Each organization can determine on the right mix of authentication approaches, and they can use in any case whether passwords are required or not.

How Passwordless Solves Security Team and End-User Problems?

Passwordless authentication provides various advantages:

• Security team can avoid many of the issues of credentials theft, as there is no password to hack.
• Passwordless authentication is difficult to manipulate biometric information.
• End-Users are not required to remember many different passwords, instead they need their alternative passwordless authentication only.

What Are Some Best Practices?

General principles on getting your passwordless authentication on the right path:

• Adapt an integrated Identity and Access Management platform to manage authentication from all types of End-Users and Endpoints.
• Educate your users about the advantage of passwordless authentication and collaborate with them so you can resolve any potential resistance.
• Have in place adaptive authentication to provide additional challenges to users who differ from their usual patterns specially when logging in; a different device, time, or location.)
• Think about multiple authentication techniques and merge them based on systems and the sensitivity of the data your users are accessing.
• Merge a device managed PIN with a device generated cryptographic OTP, known only to the end-users.
• Have in place a secondary secure channel for authentication, that is sperate to the primary communication channel to safeguard against phishing attacks.

To recap, passwordless authentication enhanced security, simplified user’s experience, reduces administration overhead as well as fast and convenient.

Finally, “By 2022, Gartner predicts 60 percent of large and global enterprises, and 90 percent of mid-size enterprises, will implement passwordless methods in more than 50 percent of use cases. *”

Next Steps

If you would like to discuss about Passwordless Authentication potential, please give us a call or get in touch at: info@treeix.com for a complimentary consultation. Let us help you to achieve your goals for passwordless strategy!