The Definitive Guide to Passkeys and FIDO Authentication

Passwords have become an inadequate authentication method in the face of rising cyber threats, data breaches and human password fallibility. Enter passkeys – a transformational passwordless approach leveraging secure public key cryptography.

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll demystify passkeys and how they enable next-generation authentication without stubborn passwords getting in the way.

What Are Passkeys and How Do They Work?

Passkeys are cryptographic credentials that allow users to securely log into online accounts and services without needing passwords. Instead, passkeys technology uses public key cryptography to verify user identities.

Here‘s how passkeys work:

When registering an account, the user‘s device creates a public and private key pair associated with that account. The private key remains securely stored on the user‘s device. The public key gets registered with the online service.

To sign in, the user authenticates locally on their device typically using a biometric like face or fingerprint matching. The device signs a challenge from the online service using the private key. This signature is verified against the registered public key to prove the user‘s identity and grant access.

The benefits of this approach:

No passwords are involved vulnerable to phishing, social engineering and data breaches
Keys remain on user devices rather than a centralized database easily hacked
The cryptographic challenge exchange prevents man-in-the-middle attacks

Platforms like FIDO Alliance standardized the technology powering passkeys with the vision to make passwords obsolete. Major browsers and operating systems now provide native support for passkey credentials. And an emerging ecosystem of solutions help web and app developers integrate this functionality into their authentication flows.

Let‘s explore some of the capabilities unlocked by passkeys…

Passkey Registration and Login Flows

Passkeys introduce new user registration and sign-in flows compared to usernames and passwords. But the overall experience remains straightforward for both users and website operators.

Passkey Registration

Registering a passkey credential follows a similar process to creating password-based accounts. But instead of think up a secure password, the user‘s device handles generating and storing the cryptographic keys.

Here are the basic steps:

User visits the website or app and clicks register
They enter any required details like username, name, email etc
They activate the registration request using their device‘s authenticator (fingerprint, face recognition etc)
A public and private key pair is generated by the authenticator bound to the user‘s account
The website stores the public key and registers the new account

Once registered, the user can sign in using the passkey. The private keys remain isolated on individual devices to preserve privacy.

Passkey Login Flow

Logging into a website or app secured by passkeys is designed to be seamless for users. Sign-in flows authorized by device authenticators rather than manually managed passwords.

The core login steps include:

User navigates to the site and initiates sign-in such as by clicking their username
The site generates a cryptographic challenge to validate the user‘s identity
The user authorizes the login request on their device using fingerprint/face recognition
The device signs the challenge using the registered private key
The signed response is sent to the site and verified against the public key to authenticate access

This allows users to securely login simply using their device once passkeys are setup. The website confirms identities based on the registered public keys without directly handling sensitive keys.

Native Platform Support for Passkeys

For passkeys to replace passwords as the standard login mechanism, widespread platform and devices support is essential.

Recently, major OS platforms have shipped support for passkey credentials unlocking web and native app integration:

iOS 16 & macOS Ventura – Passkeys stored in iCloud Keychain synchronize across iPhone, iPad, Mac establishing secure account access using Touch ID and Face ID. Safari and native apps can leverage built-in passkey management APIs.
Android: Google announced upcoming support for passkeys syncing across Android devices secured by biometric authentication.
Windows 11 & Microsoft Edge: Microsoft auto-generates and stores FIDO credentials to sign into websites and enterprise apps supporting passwordless flows.
Chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera also now have native capabilities for creating and using passkey credentials within web applications.

This cross-platform foundations brings passkeys a step closer towards eliminating passwords altogether. Users will soon be able to register and login ubiquitously using secure standard cryptographic protocols rather than risky passwords.

FIDO Standards Driving Passkey Adoption

Passkeys are built on open authentication standards developed by the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium. These interoperability specifications make passkeys portable across websites, apps and devices.

FIDO2 introduces public key based passwordless flows for both websites and apps using the new WebAuthn protocol. FIDO2 allows servers to register and authenticate users leveraging public/private key pairs managed by client devices rather than passwords.

Client to Authenticator Protocol (CTAP) provides an interface for communication between clients (such as a web browser) and external authenticators (e.g. security keys) that generate FIDO2 passkey credentials.

WebAuthn defines how web apps can leverage built-in authenticators via CTAP to create and use FIDO2 passkey credentials rather than passwords through a standard Javascript API.

These established standards for Protocols, APIs and cryptographic data formats enable passkeys interoperability between websites, apps and modern platforms & browsers.

Implementing Passkeys Authentication

Now that we‘ve surveyed the landscape of passkey solutions, what does it take to actually integrate this more secure authentication method?

Here are typical steps:

1. Select a Passkey Provider

As listed above, there‘s several full-service providers that reduce the heavy lifting deploying passkeys. Choose one fitting your use case, resources and constraints.

2. Register User Passkeys

Enable passkey registration using the provider‘s SDK/API during account signup flows. This exchanges and stores public keys for future logins.

3. Allow Passkey Login

Through provided libraries, allow users to authenticate using their registered passkeys across devices natively supporting WebAuthn.

4. Manage Passkeys

Additional provider tooling typically allows managing user passkeys over their lifecycle – updating, deleting and potentially backing up based on their offerings.

Many providers boast comprehensive getting started guides, reference architectures and developer support to smooth the migration to passkey infrastructure.

While some upfront development investment is required, passkeys unlock simpler and more secure ongoing authentication. By riding the coat tails of established standards, solutions ensure interoperability across devices while elevating defense against modern identity attacks.

Migrating Users to Passkeys

The availability of turnkey solutions helps application owners and IT departments embrace passkeys. But how can you encourage user adoption of this more secure, passwordless approach?

Here are some strategies to spur migration:

Educate users on passkey benefits over vulnerable passwords prone to theft, phishing and stuffing. Build security awareness.
Incentivize early adopters with exclusives promoting passkey usage – unlocking premium features or exclusive content reserved for the vanguard.
Support hybrid flows during transition allowing both password and passkeys login. Migrate accounts steadily rather than demanding abrupt switch for all users.
Highlight platform support surfacing native capabilities within Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android allowing seamless passkey usage once setup.
Universal availability ensuring consistent passkey functionality across both web interfaces and mobile apps prevents confusion switching between endpoints.

With the pillars of education, incentives, flexibility and consistency, users can painlessly relinquish their insecure password habits towards Safety of passkeys.

Account Recovery Using Passkeys

Passkeys solve numerous security issues plaguing passwords. But introducing cryptographic credentials over familiar passwords brings new challenges when users lose access or replace registered devices.

Unlike resetting forgotten passwords through email magic links, passkeys theoretically remain inaccessible without the original devices holding private keys.

So how can users recover account access?

Emerging solutions and standards enable secure recovery in a passwordless world:

Back up passkeys – Users can optionally export an encrypted archive of passkeys and import across new phones and laptops to restore associated accounts.
Security keys – Portable hardware security keys (e.g. from Yubico) can reconstitute passkey access as an additional factor registering new devices.
Recovery codes – One-use recovery codes prove account ownership allowing self-service device registration similar to password reset links.
Delegate access – Services could allow explicitly delegating trusted contacts ability to authorize device registration or passkey resets.
Identity verification – Rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) validation recovering accounts by proving identity via government IDs or manual review.

Through a combinations of backups, secondary keys, revocation lists and verified recovery procedures, passkeys can enable resilient access without passwords. Additionally, native platform sync (like iCloud Keychain) transparently provides secure online account portability across phones and laptops sidestepping manual recovery.

While more considerations around recovery, the improved security posture against entire classes of credential threats makes passkeys a promising successor to stubborn passwords.

Frequently Asked Questions About Passkeys

Here are answers to some common questions around this emerging passwordless approach:

Are passkeys safer than passwords?

Absolutely – passkeys eliminate broad categories of threats plaguing passwords through unphishable cryptographic protocols and keeping keys solely on devices. Brute forcing random public keys is functionally impossible for modern computers compared to guessing weak secrets.

What are the disadvantages of passkeys?

The primary drawback currently is lack of universal support on every platform, browser and authenticator. So maintain password fallback until adoption widens. Additional considerations around account recovery and portability may mean more planning rather than typical password reset flows.

Do I still need 2FA if using passkeys?

In effect passkeys provide multifactor authentication – securely proving identity through both possession of registered device AND biometric factors for example. But additional factors can layer on defense in depth based on sensitivity (e.g temporary codes sent to verified numbers).

What happens if I lose my phone with passkeys?

You‘ll need to leverage backup and recovery options unique to the passkey provider including identity verification, security keys, recovery codes or syncing across devices. This argues for registering passkeys across multiple stable devices.

Are passkeys convenient for users?

Absolutely – once enrolled, passkeys enable seamless biometric login without password fatigue or resets. Studies show users yearn for passwordless convenience. The onramp workflow also parallels typical password creation just exchanging transparent cryptographic processes.

The Future Looks Bright for Passkeys

Passkeys are poised to overcome the universal pain around passwords finally fulfilling the vision of secure and usable authentication. Emergent solutions make integrating FIDO standards within your apps smooth while major platforms bankroll native adoption across billions of devices.

As cyberthreats erode the last vestiges of viability around textual passwords, passkeys appear ready to pickup the mantle – restoring convenience through biometrics and ensuring safety via modern public key cryptography rather than secrets ripe for plunder.

While pockets of legacy compatibility will persist in the medium term, it‘s clear passwords alone are no longer up to the job in an era of rampant social engineering, availability of credential stuffing farms, extensive password leaks and inadequate human-managed entropy.

Passkeys offer respite from these systemic failings by keeping sensitive keys isolated on registered hardware authenticated by factors intrinsically tied to individual users.

It‘s time to ready your apps, infrastructure and users for the passwordless future already knocking at the door!