The digital counterpart of your physical reality is growing staggeringly. While there are sure to be positive outcomes, as the Internet has grown, so have the risks associated with it. When discussing cybersecurity risk management, the first thing that comes to mind is passwords. But that's not enough when there are threats like scams, phishing, etc.
So, what's the solution?
Passwordless Authentication: What is it?
The 20th century was about codes, but now it's beyond codes. In simple terms, passwordless authentication means a method of verifying an individual's identity online without the use of a password. Passwordless authentication involves more secure alternatives to verify a user's identity.
With more and more passwords being cracked, it's no secret that they're not an ideal solution for protecting data. Not only are passwords sometimes hard to remember, but passwords are also the most sought after by cybercriminals.
Different types of passwordless authentication
Now that we have a clear idea of what passwordless authentication means, let's look at the many types of passwordless authentication.
Biometrics: Biometric factors such as retinal scans and fingerprints can uniquely identify a person. Known as intrinsic factors, this type of approach grants access to users based on biometrics. Even with the rise of artificial intelligence, it is very difficult to imitate these methods, so it is very safe in protecting the security of accounts.
Some common biometric factors are:
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Voiceprint
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face recognition
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electrocardiogram
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fingerprint scan
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retinal scan
How biometrics work:
After registering an account on the new app, users will be required to present a biometric ID that will serve as a private key to gain access in the future.
In order to regain access to a particular application, users will need to present their previously registered ID.
Because biometric IDs are authorized biometrics, they are relatively more secure than other methods.
Possession factors: Another approach involves possession or ownership factors, which, as the name implies, are used to grant access through possession of certain devices. For example, devices such as mobile phones are mainly used for such authentication processes. After signing up for a new app, users will get a one-time password via SMS or push notification from the authenticator app.
Only in response to these notifications will users be able to access certain platforms. Cyberattacks are made extremely difficult as hackers need specific possession factors to react to notifications.
Some possession factors include:
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authenticator app
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smart card
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Mobile devices
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hardware token
How the possession factor works:
Users need to verify they have coefficients when registering a new application. This can be a mobile device number or a QR code.
Afterwards, the app generates a private key that is only associated with the fact of possession.
If attempted, the app will send OTP as PIN, password or push notification.
Users can only access the app after responding to a notification on a specific device.
magic link
Magic Links mostly involve the email address used to log into a particular account. Once the magic link is clicked, the app grants the user access directly. Popular sites/apps that use magic links are Slack and Medium, to name a few.
How Magic Links work:
When registering on the app for the first time, the app prompts users to share their email address to create a custom magic link.
After clicking the link the user receives in their email address, the user is authenticated by a matching token.
Advantages of the passwordless authentication method
We've covered a number of ways you can access and regain access to new accounts in lieu of passwords. But why do companies prefer this approach over the former one? Let's look at the reasons one by one.
1. Stronger cyber security
As technology advances, so do hackers. In this case, passwords are no longer a formidable barrier to any online account. For example, employees often use similar or identical passwords for different applications. With a password, the chances of phishing, malware attacks, and dark web listings increase. This means that with one password, hackers can even access multiple accounts.
On the other hand, passwordless authentication eliminates the use of passwords entirely. This immediately eliminates the risks associated with major cyberattacks such as credential stuffing, account takeover, password theft/brute force attacks, and phishing.
Your organization's security posture will improve significantly by implementing passwordless authentication technology on its websites, workplace devices and applications.
2. Increase production
It becomes impossible to keep creating and remembering hundreds of passwords. Additionally, the process of changing passwords when employees forget them is often difficult. So it shouldn't be a surprise if workers use the simplest passwords they can remember, keep the same passwords across all platforms, or add a unique character or number every month if needed.
Thanks to passwordless authentication, users no longer need to generate or remember passwords. Instead, to authenticate, they can use a phone call, email or face.
When employees have a fast, straightforward login experience, they can spend time that would otherwise be spent thinking or changing passwords on other, more important tasks. Passwordless authentication can also enhance the client experience.
Customers will often be asked to log in to your website if they already have an account. Passwordless authentication helps reduce the likelihood of cart abandonment and platform hacking.
3. Lower long-term costs
Think about the amount your business spends on password storage and management. Include the time IT spends on password resets and addressing legal requirements for frequently changing password storage.
In terms of scalability, passwordless authentication may outperform traditional password-based authentication. This saves the company from having to maintain and manage the user's login information. This authentication provides a more streamlined authentication process that can help organizations control costs as they scale and grow their user base.
This authentication can significantly reduce the number of support tickets, including those for resetting passwords and troubleshooting, thereby easing support staff workload and associated operational costs.
Passwords are a common cause of user retention and churn. Implementing passwordless authentication increases the likelihood that users will return to your application because they won't have to remember a password.
All of these costs can be avoided by using passwordless authentication. No more remembering passwords, resetting lost passwords, or worrying about new compliance regulations.
4. Improve user satisfaction
User experience is important when creating any program that meets the needs of users. Passwordless authentication improves the user experience across the app, from opening it to navigating to closing it securely.
Passwordless authentication is easier to set up than traditional password-based authentication. This approach simplifies the user onboarding process compared to the time-consuming password setup process that often irritates customers.
A convenient and welcoming user experience will greatly increase your app's conversion rate. Users who employ passwordless authentication are less likely to be annoyed by the difficulties they often encounter when signing up for password-based applications.
By eliminating the multi-step process of establishing difficult passwords and then re-entering them each time they log in, organizations reduce the risk of users becoming bored with the authentication process and leaving their intended operations.
Best Practices for Passwordless Authentication
While there's no denying that passwordless authentication methods are superior to old passwords, in the end, it all boils down to best practices.
Organizations need to be prepared for a major attempt at implementing passwordless authentication technology. Without adequate planning, the chances of making bad adoption decisions increase, creating vulnerabilities instead of securing them.
Possession factor:
Let's start with the possession factor. Best practices include:
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Use an approved authenticator app
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Accept latest OTP code
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Minimize failed attempts and limit the time the code is valid
Biometric factors:
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Users are not allowed to share their facial data or fingerprints, that's pretty obvious.
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Always have a backup to handle any failures in authentication
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Stick to biometrics, which are hard for hackers to circumvent. These might include palm vein scanning and gait recognition, to name a few.
Magic link:
Last but not least, let's take a look at the security measures you need to take when dealing with Magic Links.
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Make sure your email delivery service can send magic links quickly. This is important because you don't want the link to end up in the spam folder and delay the email.
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Provides a link that is used once and expires after a certain period of time.
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Enforce MFA or multi-factor authentication to ensure user's identity
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Prevent message threading by working with your email provider.
We all know that the benefits of passwordless authentication outweigh the challenges that come with it. As society moves forward in technological advancements, it is now imperative to implement multi-factor authentication and adopt a passwordless approach.
Businesses that employ cutting-edge authentication processes often stay ahead of their competitors not only by offering strong security but also by providing a seamless user experience.