What is Passkey? | Trusted reviews

Here’s everything you need to know about Passkey, including how it may affect your passwords in the future.

Most people own devices, such as laptops and tablets, that store much, much of your personal information. And while it’s very convenient to store all this information so easily, it also means we’re more at risk of hackers and fraudsters trying to access our personal accounts and steal valuable information.

This is where Passkey enters; This new technology aims to reduce the use of traditional passwords, making our accounts more secure and less vulnerable to attacks. Keep reading to find out exactly what Passkey is and why it is so important.

What is Passkey?

The password refers to a security feature that some may be familiar with, as it is not too different from two-factor authentication, a security measure that causes users to provide two different verification tools (usually mobile) to hack hackers. to log in to your accounts.

The access key is also known as the FIDO identification number for multiple devices. Using this process, a notification will be sent to the user’s smartphone when entering the site, which allows them to verify their identity through biometrics or pins, eliminating the need for a password.

Once a user has used their phone to log in to a platform, they will remain logged in to their account, which means you won’t need your phone on hand every time you want to access a new site or platform.

Passkey is a universal technology and therefore must work regardless of the OS platform or browser, which makes it accessible to more users. Website and application developers will need to implement the technology before you can use it, but Apple, Google and Microsoft have already confirmed that they will start making it easier to join FIDO next year. No dates have been set for the companies yet.

How does Passkey work?

Unlike standard two-factor authentication, Passkey uses Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is used because it requires close physical proximity, which will help check if the user is trying to log in.

This will also mean that the user’s laptop / phone will need Bluetooth to use the password. This won’t be a problem for most modern devices, but it can be difficult for anyone using an older desktop computer.

After registering and connecting to your various accounts, a targeted notification will be sent to your smartphone via Bluetooth. By unlocking your phone via a pin or biometric device, it will then create and send a unique public key to the appropriate web service associated with your account. If there is a match, you will be logged into your account.

It is important that your biometric data never leaves your smartphone, so you do not have to worry that third party services will receive a review of your personal data.

Is Passkey safer?

In theory, the password should be more secure than passwords, as hackers will need access to your phone and either a pin or a user’s fingerprint to unlock it. They will also need to be in close proximity to both your phone and the device they are trying to access, as Passkey uses Bluetooth.

Many people use the same password for multiple sites and platforms, which means that if a fraudster obtains your password, they will probably be able to use it with multiple accounts. Restricting the use of passwords should solve this problem, as the fraudster will not be able to collect your passwords if the user uses his fingerprint to log in.

Passwords can also be archived from a major platform, such as Apple or Google, which will make it easier to transfer your credentials to a new device and make it easier to sync passwords to your phone, tablet and laptop.

Is the password already available?

Some companies already use Passkey; Apple has a system running iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, but it still can’t be used on multiple platforms.

Some people have noticed support for Google Passkey in Play Services on Android, but the company has not said when it will be ready for older devices.