Passkeys: What Are They and Should I Be Using Them?
You’ve heard all about the importance of strong passwords. For decades, passwords have kept confidental information behind lock and key.
But, as threats get increasingly more sophisticated, passwords are getting less secure. The password is being replaced by the passkey. You’ve probably already seen prompts to use a passkey — but what does that even mean, exactly? We’ll break it down for you.
What Is a Passkey?
A passkey replaces your passwords with a credential that can’t be guessed and is much harder to steal. When you use a passkey, your device generaties a pair of cryptographic keys. The private key never leaves your device, and the public key is useless on its own. Basically, unique passkeys offer an upgraded level of protection from passwords alone.
Even with the extra layer of security, passkeys are actually even simpler to use than passwords. To log in to your accounts, you just need a fingerprint, face scan, or pin. Nothing to type, and nothing to forget.
The Significance of Passkeys
Most breaches still begin with a stolen or reused login, or just a lucky guess at what the login might be. Passkeys close that door. Because no shared credentials are ever sent to a website or stored on its servers, there’s nothing for an attacker to grab in during an attack.
Passkeys also help eliminate some human gateways, as well. Since a passkey can’t be reused, a user won’t repeat their password to make it easier to remember. And social engineering tactics don’t really work with passkeys, either — there’s no opportunity to talk an employee into sharing their credentials, no matter how convincing the email.
Is it a fad? Nope, it’s a real thing. Microsoft now makes passkeys the default for all new accounts, and 400 million Google users utilized passkeys in 2024 — a number that’s estimated to have doubled in the last two years. Every day, more and more companies are transitioning to passkey protocols. While passwords aren’t quite gone yet, it’s clear the direction that the digital world is headed in.
We already talked about the simplicity of passkeys, but there’s more upside than just user experience. With faster logins, most organizations who make the switch also see a significant drop in password reset tickets, which means less time waiting for help and more time getting down to business.
Getting Started
Start with your highest value accounts — These are the ones you really, really need to be the most secure: email addresses, financial logins, or any administrative credentials you might have.
Set up more than one device — Adding a passkey to a second device means that a lost phone or laptop doesn’t lock you out of your accounts.
Before you make the move, remain vigilant with password hygiene — Moving to passkeys is more of a transition than an overnight swap. A good password manager (coupled with MFA, of course!) still earn their keep during that transition.
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The password hasn’t ridden off into the sunset yet, and strong passwords still hold their weight. Getting comfortable with passkeys now means a smoother path when the change becomes standard practice rather than an option. If you want to talk through where to start with your team, we’re here to help.