Passkeys do away with passwords altogether and instead use your gadget itself to authenticate you.
It’s an amazing, clever system that fixes all the problems of passwords, with few downsides.
So what’s the problem?
Passkeys, perfect for lock-in.rc.xyz NFT gallery / Unsplash
Well, both Apple and Google have implemented passkeys as yet another way to lock in their users.
“Since then, Passkeys are now seen as a way to capture users and audiences into a platform.
Almost Perfect
Passwords are a pain, and a massive security risk.
Passkeys should be as portable as real keys.rc.xyz NFT gallery / Unsplash
Passkeys, on the other hand,are invulnerable to most of this.
They work by generating two related keys, one public, and one private.
The private one never leaves your devices and can be used to lock and unlock things.
The passkey situation is a mess.rc.xyz NFT gallery / Unsplash
The public key, which you share, can only be used to lock stuff.
It is designed to be public and is useless if stolen.
“Passkeys eliminate the need for users to remember complex passwords, reducing the risk of weak password usage.
So what went wrong?
Lock-In
Maybe you’re already using some passkeys.
Good luck with that.
“There needs to be a specific focus on improving the portability of passkeys, which is currently inadequate.
Compare this to using an independent password manager like Nordpass or 1Password.
Those make it easy to share passwords between platforms, and are adding support for passkeys too.
The technology is still amazing.
Does this mean sticking with regular passwords for now?
Passwords may be an insecure nightmare, but at least they areourinsecure nightmare.
Try that with your iCloud passkey.
