LCybersecurity experts don’t always agree, but on one thing they agree: passwords are a pain. Difficult to remember, vulnerable to attacks and costly for IT departments to manage, passwords are the cause of the majority of data breaches. According to the recently published RSA ID IQ report, AI could offer us a solution as early as 2025.
Passwords have failed to do their job for years. In 2004, Bill Gates already predicted their disappearance, saying that they do not meet the requirements of the systems to be protected. However, they are still omnipresent and continue to impose tedious practices on users: frequent rotation, unnecessary complexity and format constraints.
According to Steve Won, Chief Product Officer at 1Password, removing passwords would be a blessing for security. “Without passwords, there is nothing to steal. Phishing attacks are losing their reason for being,” he explains.
AI as a solution for a future without passwords
The RSA ID IQ report shows that businesses are increasingly considering passwordless solutions. Among the 2,000 professionals surveyed, 51% said they enter their passwords at least six times a day, and 20% more than eleven times. This friction pushes companies to look for alternatives. Nearly 61% plan to implement a passwordless solution by 2025.
AI could be the key tool to reach this milestone. As Rohit Ghai, CEO of RSA, points out, “AI makes it possible to base identity on who you are and your habits, rather than what you know.” For example, if a user always accesses the same resources from the same device at regular times, the AI may consider the risk low. On the other hand, an unusual connection attempt could trigger an automatic alert.
Obstacles to the adoption of password-free solutions
However, several obstacles remain:
- 24% of professionals consider the standards insufficiently mature.
- 21% report a lack of native support on platforms.
- 15% express a lack of confidence in passwordless authentication.
- 11% think that these solutions are reserved for personal use.
Good news, only 13% cite budget as a barrier, which opens the door to the integration of AI-based solutions.
A promising future but with challenges
Adopting AI in this area is not without risk. “Trusting AI to make critical decisions, without always understanding its mechanisms, will take time,” admits Ghai.
Despite these challenges, the end of passwords seems inevitable. And thanks to AI, that future could arrive sooner than expected.
