Technology

59440 readers

3637 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

503

Big Tech passkey implementations are a trap | Proton (proton.me)

submitted 7 months ago by AnActOfCreation@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world

220 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Big Tech has implemented passkeys in a way that locks users into their platforms rather than providing universal security
Passkeys were developed to replace passwords for better account security, but their rollout by Apple and Google has limited their potential
Proton Pass offers passkeys that are universal, easy to use, and available to everyone for improved online security and privacy.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] geophysicist@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

If a passkey isn't device bound, what makes different/better than a complex password? Is it just the standardisation that you mention? Enforcing using passkeys becomes exactly the same as enforcing using complex passwords

[–] Spotlight7573@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

One key benefit regarding hacking: the data that's passed back and forth between the user's browser/app and the website/service is a challenge and a response and is no longer sensitive like a password is and the authentication related data (the public key) that the website stores for a user's account isn't useful to an attacker.

One key benefit regarding phishing: passkeys/WebAuthn credentials incorporate the domain name into part of the authentication and it's enforced by the browser. This means that using a passkey/security key on the wrong site won't give an attacker anything useful unless they also somehow control the DNS and have a valid TLS certificate to impersonate the site with. This is unlike the situation with a phishing website where a user can be tricked by a fake but convincing looking website into giving over not just a password but a one time code provided through SMS or a TOTP.

One key benefit regarding usability: The user just has to choose which account to log into from their password manager instead of having it need to autofill correctly on the website (I still run into sites that don't autofill right). They also don't need to worry about any specific password complexity requirements or changing passwords in response to breaches or password expiration times.

[–] geophysicist@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 7 months ago

this makes a lot of sense, thanks!