A lot of services support passkeys. Microsoft even has an option to make my account “passwordless”. Since they are more secure than passwords, will you be switching some / most of your accounts to passkeys any time soon? Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on passkeys. 🔑

  • Dark ArcEnglish
    8•3 months ago

    Yeah basically. See “What is a passkey” on https://fidoalliance.org/faqs/#PasskeysFAQs

    From a technical standpoint, passkeys are FIDO credentials that are discoverable by browsers or housed within native applications or security keys for passwordless authentication. Passkeys replace passwords with cryptographic key pairs for phishing-resistant sign-in security and an improved user experience. The cryptographic keys are used from end-user devices (computers, phones, or security keys) for user authentication.

    • @JubilantJaguar
      5•3 months ago

      Which begs the question, “What is FIDO?”. To which the About FIDO page replies, literally, “FIDO authentication uses standard public key cryptography techniques to provide phishing-resistant authentication”.

      Arrghghgh! Orwell was right about people’s incredibly capacity to write with zero clarity.

      More generally, IMO what we have here is a classic case of ELI5 vs “ELI know something already”. I use SSH and manage the keys myself but I still can’t find an answer to this question: is a “passkey” just another word for “the private key in a public-private keypair?”

      Whenever I look into this, the explainer always either jumps straight into super-dense technical details, or describes it all in term of metaphors as if talking to a small child. Oh well.

      • Dark ArcEnglish
        2•3 months ago

        Reading through all the jargon and simplifying it, the answer: yes they’re the same in the way you mean.

        “SSH” and “passkey” are both technologies built on asymmetric cryptography. They thus at a fundamental level do work in the same way, it’s all the protocol and practices stuff that gets bolted on that is where things become different and where things took time to get into place so we could use these things on the web (and not just “we” who know what SSH is but “we” who make up society).

        Arrghghgh! Orwell was right about people’s incredibly capacity to write with zero clarity.

        The problem is arguably that for the people who understand it enough to say “yeah, they’re the same idea”, the key point is “asymmetric cryotherapy” in an authentication context, the key point is not SSH. SSH is just how most technically inclined users have most directly experienced asymmetric cryptography deployed as an authentication mechanism. It’s that same mistake textbooks often make of burying the lead in an otherwise obscure reference the reader may or may not pickup on.

        But yes, it would be helpful if some major site would provide this comparison “so that I don’t have to! 😉”

        See also “Enrollment and Sign-in with FIDO” in https://fidoalliance.org/how-fido-works/

        • @JubilantJaguar
          3•3 months ago

          It’s that same mistake textbooks often make of burying the lead in an otherwise obscure reference the reader may or may not pickup on.

          Exactly. Thanks for clarifying.