Google’s shift towards passkeys marks a significant stride in enhancing user security, with over 1 billion authentications recorded

Google has made significant advancements in cybersecurity with the adoption of passkeys by over 400 million accounts, signalling a major shift away from traditional password-based security. This announcement on Thursday highlights the growing reliance on passkeys, which have authenticated users more than 1 billion times in the past two years.

Heather Adkins, Vice President of Security Engineering at Google, emphasized the efficiency and security benefits of passkeys. “Passkeys are easy to use and phishing resistant, only relying on a fingerprint, face scan, or a pin, making them 50% faster than passwords,” said Adkins.

Passkeys have now surpassed older two-factor authentication methods like SMS and app-based one-time passwords in popularity for accessing Google Accounts. This shift not only enhances user convenience but also increases security by reducing the risks associated with interceptable codes.

In addition to their growing use, Google is also expanding its Cross-Account Protection feature. This enhancement will increase the security for users by providing alerts of suspicious activities related to third-party apps and services connected to Google Accounts.

A significant part of Google’s strategy involves supporting passkeys within its Advanced Protection Program (APP), aimed at high-risk users such as campaign workers, journalists, and human rights activists. While APP previously mandated the use of hardware security keys for two-factor authentication, it now allows the use of passkeys either alongside or as an alternative to hardware keys.

Google’s integration of passkeys into Chrome in December 2022 and their default role in Google Accounts across all platforms reflect a broader move towards passwordless solutions, embraced by major companies like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and more. This collaborative effort underscores a shared commitment to improving user security across the tech industry.

However, while passkeys enhance security, they also raise concerns about potentially locking users into specific platforms. Critics argue that this may limit user choice and control over their digital identities. “Corporate interests have overruled good user experience once again,” commented William Brown, a software engineer specializing in web authentication.

Despite these concerns, the widespread adoption and support for passkeys indicate a positive trend towards more secure and user-friendly authentication methods, shaping the future of digital security