The Future Of Passwords Looks Completely Different

Passkeys, or multi-device FIDO credentials, will work as a single sign-in option across different devices and platforms. In application, that means you’d create a one-time-only passkey (which could be a PIN or biometric ID), and you’d get a push request to authenticate your identity with that passkey any time you want to log in to an app or website. You’ll also be able to authenticate a new device using another nearby device that already has the FIDO credentials. Essentially, your device becomes a hardware token that you can use to authenticate access to another.

The FIDO alliance guarantees the security of this new authentication system in a white paper it released to share its modus operandi. First off, it stated that the new FIDO scheme will work over Bluetooth instead of over the internet as some push 2FA systems do. According to the white paper, this is a plus because Bluetooth requires physical proximity, which means that the FIDO credentials are a phishing-resistant way to leverage the user’s phone during authentication.

If the idea of using Bluetooth as a security tool raises your eyebrows, you can drop them. The FIDO alliance points out that Bluetooth is only used to “verify physical proximity,” and that the actual sign-in procedure “does not depend on Bluetooth security properties.” Of course, this implies devices that would work with passkeys must have Bluetooth compatibility, which is standard on most smartphones and laptops but may be difficult to come by on older desktop PCs. Also, in case you’re wondering, passkeys aren’t the same as two-factor authentication in that they function as a replacement for passwords rather than an additional factor.