Yahoo and cell phone companies like Samsung wanted to kill passwords in 2005 and 2014 respectively, yet in 2019 most of us are still logging on to various platforms using passwords. Passwords have been an essential part of authentication from their inception in the 1960s.
Additional layers of authentication and biometrics have improved the authentication process, and although technology around passwords has come a long way, at the core, authentication through passwords largely remains unchanged. In this blog, we’ll discuss the top three reasons passwords are here to stay.
1) Passwords are backward compatible
Whether it’s the latest Windows system or any earlier version of the OS, passwords work the same way. That is, passwords are either completely right or completely wrong regardless of the system it’s entered on. That cannot be said for any other authentication mechanism.
2) Passwords are completely right or completely wrong
“Passwords” and “Passw0rds” may seem similar, but to an authentication system, these passwords are vastly different. Authentication through a password succeeds only if the end user has the password exactly right. There is virtually no margin for error, and no system will mistake one password for another.
However, the same cannot be said for biometric authentication systems. A biometric password only has to be good enough for authentication to succeed. Biometric systems often have to accept a margin of error; if they didn’t, even authentic users would have trouble accessing the network. Unless biometrics become a sure shot way to authenticate users, passwords are here to stay.
3) Passwords are anonymous
The good thing about passwords is they don’t contain personal information that could be used to identify an individual. In case of a breach, it’s unlikely anyone will be able to trace your password back to you. You can simply change the password and be done with it. The same cannot be said with biometrics. Once your biometric information is breached, that’s it—there’s no changing your fingerprints, face, or eyes.
Interested in learning more about why passwords are here to stay, the impact they have on productivity, and how you can stay ahead of the curve? Grab a copy of our e-book for an insider’s perspective on password trends and password management best practices.
