TECHNOLOGY
The Real Problems with Passkeys
This may not be quite as wonderful as Apple painted it
Apple announced that its part of the FIDO/W3C alliance will be ready in IOS 16. That alliance, nine years old as I write this, was formed to “help reduce the world’s over-reliance on passwords”. Google was among the founders, Microsoft joined in 2015, and Apple signed on in 2020.
Italicized phrases have links in references at the end of this article.
Had there been a live audience, I imagine they would have interrupted the proceedings with long-lasting applause and cheering, but I cannot see this promise of a password free future happening for a long, long time. In fact, it may be so long delayed that some other technology might supplant passkeys before our current password system becomes extinct.
Pass what?
What are passkeys? From your point of view, they are nothing you likely haven’t seen and used already. Many banks and other financial apps like Mint use Face ID or Touch ID now and from where you sit, that’s just how passkeys will work: you’ll authenticate with your face or your fingerprint. It could also be by voice, an iris scan, or a physical security key, but it doesn’t use a password.
