Will Passwords Be a Thing of The Past?

Our future is pointing to the fact that everything will soon be online and connected via cloud computing. Security will be more important than ever as our lives transition and migrate to the cloud. Cyberattacks are getting more and more frequent now than ever. 85% of those attacks are due to the lack of password security. Cloud computing security and facial recognition may put a halt to the breach of password-protected accounts. 

Bottom line: passwords are awful. They are easily hacked, easily lost and difficult to use. What is deemed sufficient authentication today looks a combination of a strong password and multiple authentication factors. Unfortunately, passwords are the only thing that stands between hackers and some of our most vital and virtual assets. The cloud contains an impressive amount of important information. All of this information is seen to carry a lot of value. As hackers are seeking ways to monetize, your accounts now have a market after them. 

Microsoft is investing themselves in gaining further knowledge of biometric security. They believe that facial recognition, iris scanners, and fingerprint readers may someday eliminate the usage of passwords. Microsoft’s initiatives support the FIDO Alliance. The FIDO “Fast Identity Online” Alliance is working towards open-source password alternatives to help reduce the world’s reliance on passwords. Their suggestion and platform stand on high-grade encryption to correspond and authenticate devices and their users. Additionally, biometrics can aid in the security of the chain of devices linked to the user’s identity. As soon as the login is safe and secure, all future steps of authorization within the cloud are secure as well. 

This past October, Microsoft had already started making moves to phase out passwords via the Microsoft Authenticator app. It allows users to use their PIN, face, or fingerprint to log in to business applications. The ideology behind the Microsoft Authenticator app is providing two factors of authentication is better than just one password; it requires something biometric (a fingerprint or face) and something like the user’s device (a phone). Eventually, the password will be eradicated as the go-to authentication approach. For an attacker to breach an account they would need both the biometric information or PIN and the device. The most difficult part would be attaining the biometrics since the user is the qualification.

We are already experiencing biometric authentication come to life with smartphones deploying Face ID. It is a step in the right direction, although there should be a combination of multiple verifying factors. A password-less world is not too far from the future. By leveraging cloud computing and digital advancements, there can be consumer-friendly experience with enterprise-level security. Though this transition will take some time, Microsoft believes the work will be worth it due to the resulting benefits. Among those benefits are increased security and lower operational costs. At the end of the day, happy users is an invaluable bonus to any team and enterprise.