Google Is Rolling Out Passkeys Today to All Accounts

[vtqhtr413]

GOOGLE IS ANNOUNCING a major effort to let its account holders log in with the password replacement known as “passkeys.” The feature launches today for the company's billions of accounts, and users will be able to proactively seek it out and turn it on. Google says it plans to promote passkeys in the coming months and start nudging account holders to convert their traditional username and password login to a passkey. Password-based authentication has been standard across the internet (and computing in general) for decades, but the system has serious security issues, namely that attackers can steal your password or trick you into giving it to them in phishing attacks. The passkey scheme is specifically designed to address phishing attacks by relying on a different model that uses cryptographic keys stored on your devices for account authentication.

Google Is Rolling Out Password-Killing Tech to All Accounts

The tech industry’s transition to passkeys gets its first massive boost with the launch of the alternative login scheme for Google’s billions of users.

www.wired.com

 

[Jonny Quest]

Nice link, Bryan, that article is definitely worth the read-through.

 

[Ink]

They’re both easier to use and more secure than passwords, so users no longer need to rely on the names of pets, birthdays or the infamous “password123.” Instead, passkeys let users sign in to apps and sites the same way they unlock their devices: with a fingerprint, a face scan or a screen lock PIN. And, unlike passwords, passkeys are resistant to online attacks like phishing, making them more secure than things like SMS one-time codes.

The beginning of the end of the password

We’ve begun rolling out support for passkeys across Google Accounts on all major platforms as an additional option that people can use to sign in.

blog.google

This feature is actively rolling out, with the following operating system and browser versions required:

• Google: Chrome 109+, Android 9+, ChromeOS 109+
• Apple: Safari 16+, iOS 16, macOS Ventura
• Microsoft: Edge 109+, Windows 10/11

You can now use passkeys to sign into your Google Account

Passkeys are the industry replacement for passwords, and the ability to log in to your Google Account with them is starting to roll out...

9to5google.com

 

[Ink]

The difference between passkeys and passwords is that passkeys are cryptographic key pairs. The key pair is specific to a website. One half is shared with the website, and the other half is private and stored on your device or in your password manager. This technology uses a securely generated code to authenticate your access to websites and apps instead of a password that may be stolen or leaked.

Benefits of passkeys include:

• You won’t have to remember a sequence of letters, numbers, and characters.
• You can sign into accounts with fingerprint or facial recognition technology.
• You can use passkeys across different operating systems and browser ecosystems, and with both websites and apps.
• Passkeys are strong enough to never be guessed or reused, making them safe from hacker attempts.
• Passkeys are connected to the app or website they were created for, so you can never be tricked into using your passkey to sign in to a fraudulent app or website.
• Passkeys from Google Password Manager are available across all Android apps.

According to the Chrome support page above, you will need Windows 11 version 22H2 to manage passkeys and autofills.