On September 26, 2023, Microsoft was set to release Windows 11's latest update, which takes another step toward password elimination. As a business owner or technology user, you might wonder why tech companies are gradually eliminating passwords, a long-lived security measure.
Read on to see why Microsoft’s evolving security philosophy and the passkeys update could impact your operating system and how your business does things in the near future.
The Windows 11 Update Is Here
By June, the Windows Insider Program allowed members to preview a Windows password-free security update. Windows 11 already had passkey features. However, Microsoft extended its support options so that installing updates brought this feature to your devices.
How Do Passkeys Work?
When you or your employees log into online profiles, passkeys authenticate your identity. Most sites and software require a username or email address plus a password to access the dashboard. Now, passkeys could help you avoid inputting multiple vulnerable credentials every time you log in.
It works like pushing a digital button to permit speedy, secure dashboard access. While passkeys don’t require specific hardware as such, they do connect to your devices.
Unlike traditional login methods, passkeys are less susceptible to hackers. Here’s how the dual-key approach could work to secure your business:
One Key in the Cloud
Your organization’s system will store one passkey in your preferred cloud service, making this unique passkey available on all devices simultaneously. For example, you may use it for most online accounts you or your business uses daily.
The Other Key on Your Device
The second passkey would be specific to your physical devices. It identifies the device used to log in. Together, these two keys provide nearly impenetrable protection for those devices and the online dashboards you’re accessing.
All Businesses Benefit From Passkeys
Can your business benefit from passkeys? Absolutely, and there are several possibilities. For example, Microsoft outlined the following ways in which these advances may improve business and personal digital dealings:
Leave Passwords Behind
Inputting a username and password entry is clunky. With business on the go now the norm, almost all professionals have experienced the frustration of attempting to input a complicated password on a mobile device. If it’s not several consecutive login efforts, it’s those infuriating locked account messages, all due to misspellings or touch errors.
Passkey technology swiftly solves the problem.
Keep Your Data Safe
The second benefit for business owners is the dual security involved. Even a complex password offers hackers a gateway or allows malware into devices as you're running Android on your smartphone and connecting to the nearest WiFi service. You won’t realize a breach until a cybercriminal accesses your accounts from a different device, and since you stay logged into your email, that hacker can now access sensitive business information and more.
Passkey technology solves this security problem, too.
Make Security a Priority
Is your device due for an update? Don’t delay; passkeys have arrived. And if you don’t have a device that's installing Windows 11 updates, Google or Apple devices also support passkeys.
