In the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape, identity and access management (IAM) remains a vital link in the cybersecurity chain. In fact, the biggest threat can often come from the person sitting at the next desk. We all have moments when we are vulnerable to attacks that exploit our biases, and the challenge with using passwords is that users can quickly become fatigued. Constantly creating and keeping track of an increasing number of passwords required to navigate the countless systems they interact with on a daily basis is a task that has many of us looking for workarounds, if we can.
Almost every service or app requires a password, and each password must be a certain length and contain a special combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. If these requirements weren't in place, many users would use weak, predictable passwords that are easier to remember, and many of us still reuse passwords even though we know we shouldn't.
Fortunately, as technology advances, so do the methods available to securely authenticate users. That’s why passwordless authentication is gaining popularity among organizations, because it eliminates many of the hassles and costs that come with managing passwords in an enterprise-sized organization. An increasingly popular alternative to passwords is passcodes, a modern take on traditional passwords. By offering better user experience, security, and scalability, passcodes are helping to improve authentication, and along with that, the state of security in 2024.
Passcodes are a safer and simpler option than passwords. With passcodes, users can log in to apps and websites using biometrics, such as a fingerprint or facial recognition, a PIN, or a pattern, meaning they no longer have to remember or manage passwords.
The Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance is at the forefront of passcode technology. FIDO standards, such as FIDO2 and WebAuthn, facilitate secure authentication mechanisms by enabling passwordless logins using biometrics, USB tokens, or mobile devices. By completely eliminating the need for passwords, FIDO standards mitigate the inherent vulnerabilities that come with traditional authentication methods.
Identity and access management specialist, Thales.
Not all access keys are the same
While all types of passcodes serve the same purpose, there are some variations in how they can be stored and managed. There are two categories: synchronized and device-linked.
Synchronized passcodes are synchronized across users’ devices via a cloud service, which can be part of a given device’s operating system or third-party software. This allows users to seamlessly access their credentials across multiple devices. Whether they’re logging into a website on a laptop or accessing an app on a smartphone, synchronized passcodes ensure a seamless and consistent user experience.
Device-bound passcodes are tied to specific hardware, such as a smartphone or USB security key. By leveraging the unique characteristics of each device, these passcodes increase security by adding another layer of protection against account compromise. This type of passcode also reduces reliance on centralized servers, mitigating the risk of data breaches and server-side attacks.
While the experience of using passcodes is incredibly seamless, there remains a significant barrier: the level of support from services, websites, and software. In order to use passcodes, each site that wants to enable them must update its authentication mechanism to be able to support and accept them. That said, many major mobile operating systems and web browsers, including iOS, Windows, Android, and Chrome, do support this technology, which will help drive others to make the switch in the near term and drive a tipping point in mainstream adoption.
What is the best way to implement it?
To ensure a smooth and secure transition, businesses should consider the following before implementing passcodes within their organization:
First, it is worth considering adopting a multi-factor authentication (MFA) approach, incorporating biometrics or hardware tokens alongside access keys. This improves authentication integrity and resilience against unauthorized access attempts, as access keys should ideally be registered when the user’s identity is already highly trusted. Allowing registration outside of an MFA step can create a security risk, as typical session- or token-based mechanisms lose their security after a while. For example, people leave their phones and laptops lying around ununlocked.
The most essential step to avoiding deployment issues is to understand your users. This may seem obvious, but for any passcode deployment to be successful, it must be configured to match the user authentication process. Consider how employees actually use applications and access data in the real world, as opposed to how security teams might want them to do so. The two may not always match up.
Next, know your risk tolerance. While there are ways to avoid excessive conflicts between security and user experience (UX), until passcodes are more widely supported across all devices and environments, some tough decisions need to be made about where the company believes it is most vulnerable to attacks.
Finally, it's worth keeping up with updates. Passcode vendors are constantly updating their browser and ecosystem support, meaning that even if a particular software is not supported, the situation may be very different in the near future. More and more new hardware is also featuring biometric or passcode authentication.
Whats Next?
With increasing support across operating systems, websites, and other services, it seems that passcodes could be the end of passwords for good. Thanks to a variety of innovative authentication methods, such as biometrics, hardware tokens, and cryptographic protocols, businesses now have the tools at their disposal to finally overcome the limitations of traditional passwords and improve their security.
We list the best identity management software.
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