Imagine a world beyond passwords, where users can securely access data anyplace at any time without having to validate themselves manually. A post-password world is no longer a distant dream, but instead a closely approaching reality.
Data breaches involving social engineering and credential misuse accounted for 82% of breaches in 2022, according to a recent study by Verizon. Online security might seem impossible without passwords, however, many users still practice poor password hygiene, posing a huge risk when it comes to cyberthreats such as brute-force and dictionary attacks.
What does a passwordless future look like?
The cybersecurity landscape is ever-changing. Though passwords remain a key layer of authentication for most organizations, passwordless and biometric authentication are rapidly becoming more popular. The increasing number of websites, apps, and platforms on the internet also increases the threats online. And humans are the weakest links when it comes to building a cyberdefense strategy.
The idea of a passwordless future envisions a time when people will no longer sign up for and access internet services using the traditional password authentication technique. Instead, more innovative security mechanisms like biometrics, multi-factor authentication, and cryptography will be implemented to give users a safe and convenient way to confirm their identities.
With this technology, users won’t need to remember complicated passwords in order to log in to their accounts and access a variety of online resources and data. They can authenticate themselves using their fingerprints, facial recognition technology, and other biometric markers. Password theft, phishing attempts, and other cyber risks that hover over the current password-dependent society can be eliminated by thinking beyond passwords.
The passwordless strategy
There are various methods to eliminate the use of passwords from daily online activities. Biometric authentication uses a person’s unique physical characteristics to confirm their identity. Such characteristics can include fingerprint and facial recognition as well as iris scanning.
Time-based one-time passwords (TOTPs) might sound ironic but they are a common form of two-factor authentication. TOTPs are unique, numeric, temporary passwords that are valid for 30 to 90 seconds and generated using the current time as an input. Apps like Microsoft Authenticator support this form of account security. Another excellent alternative to password-based authentication is email-based authentication. By clicking on a link supplied to their email address, the user is prompted to authenticate their identity.
You can also use your mobile device or tablet to authenticate your identity by generating a push notification on the device and confirming your identity. Businesses can also use public key cryptography and smart cards to authenticate without passwords.
Thinking beyond passwords with ManageEngine
Passwords alone aren’t enough to protect against attacks, regardless of whether you want to go password-less or consider them indispensable. With our webinar, you’ll learn how to implement a context-based identity defense strategy that uses modern authentication factors for secure access to resources.
You’ll gain insight on the alternative methods that can help enhance identity protection on the internet and learn how to implement these strategies across your organization.
So what are you waiting for? Register for our webinar today!
