“As the digital threat landscape evolves, cybersecurity and online practices must evolve with it,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Therefore, the move by Google to set passkeys as the default sign-in credential is a strong message that we are moving toward a passwordless future.”
“The move by Google is far overdue and will greatly increase adoption of passkeys over passwords,” he added.
“This transition from traditional passwords empowers individuals to take greater control of their data,” he added, “especially in response to the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats.”
Running Out of Passwords
“Anytime Google updates a default,” he told TechNewsWorld, “not only does that significantly increase usage of the item on the Google platforms, but forces the other major players, like Microsoft, to respond.”
Challenges to Passkey Tech Adoption
Guccione reasoned that passkey adoption would be similar to credit card adoption. “Today,” he said, “just as cash coexists with credit cards and contactless payments, passkeys can coexist with traditional passwords.”
“The infrastructure for users is largely in place now that Apple, Google, and Microsoft have launched operating systems that accommodate passkeys,” said James E. Lee, chief operating officer for the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization devoted to minimizing risk and mitigating the impact of identity compromise and crime, in San Diego.
“Consistent support from major platforms and browsers is key in promoting widespread adoption of the technology,” he maintained.
Eduardo Azanza, CEO of Veridas, a global biometric identification and authentication solution provider based in Madrid, pointed out that traditional password systems have been shown to fail time and time again, as huge volumes of credentials are stolen every day.
That means when users sign in to their personal accounts, they’ll see a prompt to create and use a passkey — typically a face scan, fingerprint, or PIN — as well as the “Skip password when possible” option turned on in their account settings.
Both enterprises and consumers are adopting passwordless solutions across various sectors, noted Ricardo Amper, founder and CEO of Incode Technologies, an international identity verification and biometric authentication company. “Google’s policy change underscores the growing demand for seamless and highly secure authentication methods,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“Most large enterprises use MFA [multi-factor authentication] already, but need to move beyond MFA tied to passwords,” he told TechNewsWorld. “This may drive the market faster, making companies move faster.”
“Google’s announcement today on officially making passkeys the default login is another milestone on the journey toward a truly passwordless future,” declared Steve Won, chief product officer at 1Password, a password manager software maker in Toronto.
“As the big players, such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft, move to adopt passkeys and make it mandatory, others will naturally get on board,” added Timothy Morris, chief security advisor at Tanium, a maker of an endpoint management and security platform, in Kirkland, Wash.
“The next six months will be an important window for adoption,” he predicted. “We need to continue focusing on creating cross-platform ubiquity for apps and services so developers can easily implement passkey authentication.”
The move will likely have a ripple effect throughout the tech industry, predicted Roger Grimes, a defense evangelist at KnowBe4, a security awareness training provider in Clearwater, Fla.
Indeed, conditions appear to be ripe for adoption acceleration.