What Are Passkeys? Explained in 2 Minutes

Passkeys are taking the world by storm. They are marketed as an accessible and secure solution to passwords, and it seems everybody is about to start using them. But how do they work?

🎪 Looking for entertainment and interesting stories? Check out our playlists filled with captivating content that will keep you entertained for hours:

📰 Stay up-to-date with the latest cybersecurity news and trends by checking out our curated news playlist. We cover the latest threats, trends, and insights from the world of cybersecurity:

0:00 Intro
0:17 What are Passkeys
0:37 How does it work?
1:17 Conclusion

ℹ️ About us
We are an independent news outlet with a YouTube channel that posts cybersecurity & tech news videos daily. Our foremost concern is the safety and security of our viewers around the world. We remain vigilant on the issue of hacking and will provide updates as they become available. A number of our investigations and reports have been featured by industry-related publications and global news leaders like Forbes, PC mag, and Techradar.

[AlessandroBottoni]

Passkeys are a lot better than passwords for the regolar user but... if you use passwords for *professional* applications, please use *passwords* plus a 2FA method like hardware authentication tokens, OTP applications and so on. Do not use Passkeys for critical, professional, company/corporate-level apps. For this kind of applications, you need a simple, reliable way to make a *backup* of your keys and a simple, reliable way to recover a failed/compromised system (if/when needed). Having these failsafe options is not so easy when you use passkeys (and *only* passkeys).

[starwarsdude]

So is it like when you want to log into something on your computer, you get a notification on your phone or something like that. Then you do face ID and it logs you in?

[ProfessorJayTee]

TERRIBLE idea. Once they figure out how to "spoof" the passkeys? We're ALL fucked. Now, I have dozens of passwords, so if hackers manage to find one, they don't have ALL OF THEM. If they spoof my passkey, they have access to EVERYTHING I have access to... banks, investments, social media... everything.

[RickR]

The fact that this currently relies on the big companies for authenticating makes me suspect. As someone who uses 2FA and has complex pseudo randomly generated passwords, I'm not convinced this is better.

[hyozanhades]

I also use multiple yubikeys too for multi factor authentication.

[RedMambaYard]

What about the biometric data that are stored to be able to match the biometric input on the device? Can't they be stolen as well? And isn't that worst? Once your account has been compromised, it's bad, but you lost an account (and all the contained information). But once your unique biometric data have been compromised, you can't replace them, and you won't be able to used them elsewhere forever. Or am I missing something here?

[PersonalPariah]

To be clear, unless passwords are completely removed from the account creation/login process, surely I'm no more secure than I was before...? If someone has my password and breaks my 2FA then I'm still screwed, whether I have a separate login mechanism set up or not.

[shaunrocksthecitytvshow]

Yeah the video was helpful I found out what me losing my other phone it's a pain in the ass forgetting my account I still can't get in my Shopify account 😒😒😒

[EyesOfByes]

People have been using physical keys for millenia, so it should be easier for non tech savy people

[SnowyRVulpix]

Actually, losing your device isn't an issue. Passkeys are backed up to your google or apple account.

[MR.E]

What about malware or Zero-day bugs....Giving Criminals access to your phone without your permission. Seems they could take over your accounts without much effort using Passkey. Security is not about being easy..instead it should be layers of road-blocks for criminals to overcome.

[iamphantasm]

Just remember that one pass to your google or iCloud and you can sign in on a new phone and you’re good. Simple

[ronp]

I'll pass on the potential for anything harrowing, lol.

[StijnHommes]

No. Remembering your passwords is easy if you use a password manager. Also, if your password is sufficiently long and non-predictable something of only 16 characters can take centuries to brute-force.

[Petah_C]

Can we do password managers and passkeys together?

[stu.thomason]

The video doesn't explain why it would be a "harrowing" task to restore access to your accounts. This brief statement on its own is enough for me to say, "Nope." Hopefully an expert (not an armchair cyber guy) can change my mind.

[Glorydavid]

Hellw brother I need you help some one from urp she trak my phone