Like other technology giants, Microsoft is determined to say goodbye to passwords. After introducing it in September on Windows 11 for professional accounts, the Redmond firm has extended support for passkey technology on Windows, iOS and Android to all of its users and services. These secure access keys work as an alternative method to log in without passwords, using biometric identification, facial or fingerprint recognition, from mobile or desktop devices.
At Microsoft, it will make it possible to authenticate, on desktop and mobile web browsers, to the firm’s applications and websites, such as Microsoft 365 services, Copilot, its AI based on the GPT-4 language model of OpenAI (ChatGPT). “Support for signing in to mobile apps using these access keys will follow in the coming weeks,” says Vasu Jakkal, Microsoft vice president of security and identity, in a communicated.
To create a passkey for a Microsoft user account, simply go to the Microsoft account sign-in or create page, add a new sign-in or verification method in the security settings and select the “Face, fingerprint, PIN or security key” option. Then all that remains is to choose the desired authentication method. When generating a unique access key, the service creates a public encryption key stored on a server, while the private key remains securely stored on the user’s authenticated device, making it difficult credential theft in the event of compromise of the company’s servers.
Google, Apple, Amazon and WhatsApp are among the other major technological players to have already adopted this authentication solution, which is more effective and secure than traditional passwords, even with two-factor authentication.
