👤 What Is Passwordless Authentication?
Tags: security, passwordless, authentication
Published: 2021-06-28 12:34:40

#### 🔐 Passwordless authentication is a method to verify a software user without a password and can help increase security and reduce costs for any organization.

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Passwordless authentication is the process of verifying a software user’s identity with something other than a password. The most common passwordless authentication methods include verifying the possession of a secondary device or account a user has or a biometric trait that is unique to them, like their face or fingerprint.

[Passwordless authentication](https://auth0.com/passwordless) can reduce costs and security risks for any organization. And as Google Cloud’s director of product management Sam Srinivas explains, [passwordless authentication usage will likely grow rapidly in the near future](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/identity-security/security-trends-to-pay-attention-to-in-2019-and-beyond). 

Here is why more enterprises are turning to passwordless authentication and how you can implement it in your organization.

![Why Passwordless Authentication Is Better than a Password](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/24uCeR7yhZbNmMpbFE7v3v/c2245aa707cc9d83b5242357ed06ac39/Passwordless-Authentication-sep1.jpg)

## Why Passwordless Authentication Is Better than a Password

Passwordless authentication creates a smoother experience than traditional username and password (U/P) authentication for both you and your users (that can be more secure if it relies on WebAuthn). Not only does this save you money, but it can even lead to an increase in sales in some cases.

### Reduced security risks

According to Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), credential vulnerabilities account for [over 84% of all data breaches](https://www.verizon.com/business/solutions/secure-your-business/business-security-tips/). Eliminating passwords altogether reduces your risk for a data breach because it reduces a bad actor’s ability to use them (and the unsafe behaviors that often expose them) against you and your users.

For example, cybercriminals [often](https://auth0.com/blog/what-is-data-security/) use [credential stuffing](https://auth0.com/blog/what-is-credential-stuffing/) (using compromised user credentials from one breach to gain access to another organization) to breach an organization because [more than two-thirds of all people reuse passwords](https://securityboulevard.com/2020/04/8-scary-statistics-about-the-password-reuse-problem/). Eliminating passwords removes the ability for cybercriminals to use credentials they’ve obtained elsewhere to access accounts on your system.

Passwordless authentication that uses modern authentication methods like FIDO-compliant devices reduces your organization’s vulnerability via [phishing attacks](https://auth0.com/blog/protecting-against-phishing-attacks/) (tricking users into downloading malware or providing sensitive information with a malicious email). 

Since phishing accounts for [36% of all data breaches](https://www.verizon.com/business/solutions/secure-your-business/business-security-tips/) and [many](https://www.csoonline.com/article/2117843/what-is-phishing-how-this-cyber-attack-works-and-how-to-prevent-it.html) are performed with the goal of acquiring a username and password, eliminating passwords means your users or employees won’t accidentally provide bad actors anything they can use to gain access to their accounts and personal data if they receive a phishing email.

### Reduced costs (and increased sales) through better user experience

The average person has [100 passwords](https://tech.co/news/average-person-100-passwords) to remember and spends [12.6 minutes of every week](https://www.yubico.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ponemon-Authentication-Report.pdf) resetting them (often through a call to a help desk). This ends up costing your organization more money in password resets and customer service time than you think. For example, although the industry standard is $70 per reset, Auth0 customers report up to $120 per reset, even before they’ve called the helpdesk. 

Implementing passwordless authentication, however, can help reduce or eliminate those costs since your users will be able to log in without a password. This also eliminates the need to store and maintain those password databases.

[Research](https://www.yubico.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ponemon-Authentication-Report.pdf) by The Ponemon Institute and Yubico also shows that eliminating passwords may increase sales for some businesses since almost half of the 1,700+ IT professionals they surveyed reported that they could not complete a personal transaction as a result of a forgotten password.

Finally, user experience [can be a competitive advantage](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220891164_User_Experience_Design_A_Strategy_for_Competitive_Advantage) for software businesses ([even at the enterprise level](https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2018/12/enterprise-user-experience-as-a-competitive-advantage.php)). So reducing login friction could also encourage users to choose you over your competitors.

![Types of Passwordless Authentication](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/3DuYOoznWG10geDOeYwBVm/02b5dbc23075eebf4d984f22dbaaec76/Passwordless-Authentication-sep2.jpg)



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