The security of sensitive data in industries such as healthcare and critical infrastructure depends largely on the strength of login procedures. Although the requirement for a secure password or multi-factor authentication has been standard for years, stolen credentials remain one of the most common causes of data breaches.
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With the growing threat of phishing and credential stuffing, IT professionals need a more reliable technology than traditional passwords. Passkeys represent a revolutionary advancement that finally delivers on the promise of passwordless authentication, ending the reliance on easily guessed or stolen passwords. In this article, we look at how these cryptographically secured credentials work, who is already using them and why they are the key to the future of password security. We show how passkeys increase the security of corporate networks and improve the user experience at the same time.
Data breaches resulting from stolen or weak credentials pose a significant risk, especially for the healthcare, manufacturing and critical infrastructure industries. The traditional password method, which has been used for decades, is often the weakest link in the security chain. Passkeys offer a much-needed alternative by eliminating the reliance on traditional passwords and providing a much more robust form of authentication. They represent a significant step towards passwordless authentication and offer modern protection against the most common threats such as phishing and credential stuffing.
Passkeys are essentially a digital credential that uses a key pair to cryptographically authenticate users to a website or application. This concept is based on the FIDO2 (Fast IDentity Online) standard and solves the problem of password theft by eliminating the need to enter a secret that could be transmitted over the network. The Passkey's private key is stored securely on the user's device, while the public key is stored with the service; this prevents an attacker from stealing credentials that could be reused elsewhere.
The technical operation of passkeys may seem complex at first glance, but the underlying principle is asymmetric cryptography. This method is far more secure than using a secure password alone and is a native form of multi-factor authentication. The user's private secret is never shared during the login process, which offers a decisive advantage over older authentication methods.
The core of the Passkeys function lies in the generation of a cryptographic key pair during registration: a public key and a private key. The public key is sent to the service and stored there, while the private key remains only on the user's device and is protected by biometric data (e.g. fingerprint) or a device PIN . To log in, the service prompts the user's device to create a cryptographic signature that can only be generated with the private key. The service validates this signature with the stored public key, thereby confirming the user's identity without transmitting a password.
The adoption of Passkeys is being driven by industry giants, underscoring its acceptance as the new gold standard in authentication. This broad support is a strong signal to all sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare, that this technology is ready for widespread adoption. Its use by these large companies is accelerating the move away from more vulnerable systems and encouraging the use of passwordless authentication.
Leading technology companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft have implemented passkeys in their operating systems and browsers, ensuring their cross-platform usability. In addition, major online services such as PayPal, eBay and Amazon have started to offer or introduce Passkeys as a login method. This not only demonstrates confidence in the higher security of this technology, but also makes it directly available to millions of users.
One of the biggest challenges with previous authentication methods was cross-device use, especially when a PC and a smartphone were involved. Passkeys have been specifically designed to solve this problem and provide a seamless, yet highly secure login across different devices. This functionality is critical to making the adoption of multi-factor authentication viable in corporate environments.
If you want to log in on your PC but your passkey is stored on your smartphone, a secure, encrypted connection (usually via Bluetooth Low Energy or a QR code) is established between the two devices. The PC sends a login request to the service, which then sends a notification to your smartphone. You then authorize the login on your smartphone, typically with your biometric unlock or PIN. Your smartphone generates the cryptographic signature with the private key and sends this signature securely to the PC, which forwards it to the service to complete the login.
Compared to traditional credentials, passkeys offer a significantly higher level of security, making them an ideal solution for critical organizations. The way they thwart attacks is fundamentally different and makes the risk of a data breach through stolen credentials almost impossible. Their architecture is inherently designed to defend against threats that even a strong password could not prevent.
The security of passkeys is mainly based on two factors: phishing resistance and device binding. Since the private key is never sent to the service and the cryptographic signature is bound to the specific domain, an attacker cannot use a fake login page to steal the key. Even if an attacker gets hold of the public key, it is useless without the private key, which is additionally protected by biometric data or a PIN on the device. This makes logging in with Passkey much more secure than most conventional methods of multi-factor authentication.