Passwordless Authentication: Is it Time to Bid Farewell to Passwords?

In the digital-first world, authentication has become a crucial requirement for accessing online services. Whether it's booking a flight ticket or shopping on an e-commerce platform, authentication is necessary before proceeding.

Password-based authentication has long been the most prevalent method used for this purpose. It has remained a common practice for decades, with many businesses still relying on it.

However, the biggest challenge with passwords is that they are easily forgotten, stolen, and vulnerable to data breaches. 

Stats reveal that around 30% of users have experienced security breaches due to weak passwords. Hence, there’s an immediate need to reinvent authentication. 

So, what’s the best way to minimize the risk of compromised passwords?

Going passwordless is perhaps the most effective way to reinforce authentication security, and a lot of businesses have already incorporated passwordless authentication into their platforms. 

Let’s uncover the endless business benefits of relying on passwordless authentication and understand why this is the right time to put your best foot forward in adopting passwordless authentication. 

What is Passwordless Authentication? Why is it the Need of the Hour? 

As the name suggests, passwordless authentication is the most secure way to eliminate the need to remember complex passwords. 

The user is verified with the help of a possession factor. This factor involves using a unique object, such as a One-Time Password (OTP) sent via SMS to the registered phone numbe, or a link sent to the registered email. The user is required to verify the OTP or click on the link to proceed with logging into their account. This additional step enhances the security of the authentication process by confirming the user's possession of the registered device or email address.

On the other hand, passwordless authentication is swiftly becoming the preferred authentication method among users across the globe.  According to the State of Consumer Identity Trends Report 2023, users who used passwordless login had the highest return rate of 41.33%.

Hence, businesses considering enhancing their overall growth by improving conversion and return rates shouldn’t ignore the importance of incorporating passwordless authentication. 

Let’s look at some benefits of leveraging passwordless authentication in today’s modern digital world. 

1. Robust Security 

Regarding security, nothing could beat the robustness of passwordless authentication since the chances of password compromise become zero. 

Many businesses face challenges with password breaches that lead to privacy violations of customers and can sometimes expose their sensitive information. And if a business faces a data breach due to compromised security, they may be entitled to hefty fines and face reputational damages.  

Hence, many enterprises are now inclining toward passwordless authentication to minimize cyber-attack risks and maintain their customers' privacy. 

Passwordless authentication ensures only the authorized user can access an account/resources, and no cybercriminal can exploit a user’s identity. 

2. Seamless User Experience

Another reason passwordless authentication is gaining popularity is that it offers a great user experience since most tasks of conventional password-based authentication are eliminated. 

Users need not remember complex passwords; they just need to offer their mobile number or email address to authenticate themselves. This saves time and skips the need to create separate passwords for separate accounts. 

Conventional password-based authentication has a lot of limitations when it comes to resetting passwords or recovering accounts. 

On the other hand, users need not worry about resetting their passwords since the password is already eliminated in passwordless authentication. 

Thus, enterprises can create seamless user experiences that improve overall business growth. 

3. Compliance with Global Regulations 

With data breaches becoming the new standard and millions of users compromising their identities yearly, global data security and privacy regulations are now more stringent. 

As a result, businesses collecting user information must adhere to their guidelines and regulations that ensure that customer information is securely collected, stored, and managed. 

And incorporating passwordless authentication can help brands quickly comply with most of the global data privacy and security compliance requirements. For instance, it helps comply with the EU’s GDPR and California’s CCPA.

These compliances demand businesses fulfill all the requirements of data privacy and security before serving the citizens of the EU and California, respectively. Brands can collect their data, store it, and manage it without any legal consequences. 

So, if you’re thinking about compliance management, you can prefer choosing passwordless authentication to get compliance with several global regulations. 

4. Lower Long-Term Costs 

Sticking to traditional password-based authentication is expensive in the long run when compared with passwordless authentication. 

Whether we talk about the costs to secure passwords or the costs associated with password recovery, brands have to burn a big hole into their pocket to ensure user account safety. 

On the other hand, costs related to password recovery are always zero in the case of passwordless authentication. Also, additional maintenance costs are comparatively lesser in the long run. 

Thus, passwordless authentication seems to be the best option if a business thinks of reinforcing customer account security without burning a hole in its pocket. 

5. Quick Deployment 

Last but not least, passwordless authentication can be deployed quickly into the existing systems, and enterprises can leverage its true potential the same day. 

Unlike other authentication mechanisms that require a lot of complex processes to deploy, passwordless authentication can be deployed without any hassle. 

So this means you can secure your customers’ identities quickly and offer them a great user experience without worrying about the overall deployment time. 

To Conclude 

With businesses continuously falling victim to data breaches and attackers becoming more sophisticated in targeting users, ensuring robust customer security becomes an uphill battle. 

Whether phishing attacks or attacks compromising user login credentials, robust security is the need of the hour. 

Here’s where the critical role of passwordless authentication comes into play. With passwordless authentication, businesses can enhance customer account security, improve overall user experience, adhere to global privacy and security compliances, and save much money on their security costs. 

So, if you’re considering improving user experience and security for your business growth, you must put your best foot forward in deploying passwordless authentication.