1Password, the popular password management platform, today announced that it will roll out support for passkeys sometime in early 2023. This will allow users to sign in to websites and apps using a unique signature in place of a password.
1Password will soon be a part of the passwordless future
In this day and age, you need a strong password for everything from your social media accounts to the app you may use for banking. And if you want to drastically reduce the chances of being phished or hacked, 1Password says it has the solution: passkeys.
What is a passkey? Passkeys allow users to sign in to supported websites and apps using a unique signature. Technically, passkeys are pairs of private and public keys based on the WebAuthn standard. Unlike a traditional password, the private key that is generated using a passkey is never shared with a site, and therefore, it cannot be stored on their servers.
In its announcement post, 1Password explains how passkeys work after a user creates an account with it.
A passkey – which includes your public and private key pair – is then generated for that specific website. This happens locally, on your device. The public key is sent to the website’s server for storage, while the private key remains securely stored in your authenticator.
The next time you sign in, the website will create a “challenge,” which is a bit like a puzzle. Your authenticator will “sign” the challenge using your private key, then send the completed “signature” to the website. Finally, the website uses their copy of your public key to verify the signature’s authenticity.
1Password goes on to note that big tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are also implementing passwordless authentication.
Passkeys make it easier for everyone to use passwordless authentication across all of their devices. Perhaps more importantly, they’re backed by influential technology companies including Apple, Google, Microsoft, and … us! By championing passkeys together, this group can raise awareness and, by extension, overall adoption around the world.
Benefits of passkeys include:
- Every passkey is strong by default.
- You don’t have to remember or type out your passkeys.
- Your private key is never shared with the website you want to sign in to.
- Your public key can’t be used to figure out your private key.
- Passkeys are a strong defense against phishing and social engineering attacks.
Support for passkeys will be rollout out to 1Password for desktop in early 2023. Mobile support will arrive shortly after.
