Support for passwordless authentication is continuing to proliferate, with mobile and biometric tech playing a key role, as exemplified in announcements this week from the major consumer platforms WhatsApp and LastPass.
With respect to the former, it looks like WhatsApp is about to enable passkey support. A new beta version of an update to the messaging platform has been released, and features a page dedicated to toggling passkeys on or off. Framing passkeys as a “simple way to sign in safely”, the page explains that interested users can opt to log in with a fingerprint or face scan, or with their device PIN, and that their cryptographic key will be stored in Google Password Manager. Passkey support recently came to the 1Password platform, as well.
Speaking of password managers, LastPass has announced its support for the use of FIDO2 authenticators. Normally, a LastPass user needs to enter their master password to gain access to their password vault. But the platform’s newly added support for authentication solutions compliant with the FIDO Alliance standard means that users can instead access their vault with a face or fingerprint scan on their device, or with a security key.
“The imperative to reduce reliance on passwords has become abundantly clear to everyone and is a core tenet of the FIDO Alliance’s mission, which LastPass has actively supported as a long-standing participant on our Board of Directors,” said FIDO Alliance Executive Director Andrew Shikiar.
At the moment, LastPass’s support for FIDO2 authenticators is limited to desktop browsers and Chrome and Firefox extensions, but the company says Safari extension support is on the way, and that it’s working toward obtaining FIDO2 certification for its servers.
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August 9, 2023 – by Alex Perala
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