Biometrics and multi-pass to replace passwords for all sites and services

mrk · 12 Apr 2018 at 22:46

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ew-web-standard-designed-replace-login-method

The W3C has moved WebAuthn to what’s called the “candidate recommendation” stage – the penultimate step before it becomes an approved web standard – inviting sites and services to begin implementing it. The web standards body announced that Google, Microsoft and Mozilla had committed to supporting WebAuthn, meaning that all major web browsers short of Apple’s Safari will implement the new standard.

This is great news and I'm surprised it has taken this long really. They say that multi-pass authentication will also be supported, which Microsoft/Google/Facebook have had for some time now. Nothing more satisfying than logging into either service and a message pops up on my phone asking to approve or deny the login attempt.

Obviously simply entering a username then touching your phone's fingerprint scanner or iris scanner will be even better still.

I'm guessing they will have mobile based authentication set up via a partner app you install, much like how MS and Google have a two step auth app you can install, and then add accounts from various sites and services that support two-step. One auth app to manage them all if you will.

Glaucus · 12 Apr 2018 at 22:52

as you said about time, an increasing number of computers are coming with windows hello or fingerprint scanners.
roll on end of passwords and yes two-step verification with remember me on this device, should be on every site/app you need to login to.

mrk · 12 Apr 2018 at 23:01

The forums will get updated in 2028, then

Glaucus · 12 Apr 2018 at 23:03

mrk said:
The forums will get updated in 2028, then

That's a bit optimistic. Maybe 2128

bayo000 · 12 Apr 2018 at 23:05

mrk said:
The forums will get updated in 2028, then

Optimistic

mistersprinkles · 13 Apr 2018 at 19:30

Glaucus said:
That's a bit optimistic. Maybe 2128

LOL humanity will be long extinct by then. Disease, climate change, nuclear winter, death by political correctness... We'll all be gone.

Malevolence · 13 Apr 2018 at 19:47

How will this work for those people who don't have smart phones, like my parents?

adolf hamster · 13 Apr 2018 at 20:02

the one thing always bugged me about 2-step was if you found yourself doing something on your phone, and the verification code was sent to your phone. kinda defeats the point no?

it would be nice to see a more unified system coming in, it is a pain in the backside remembering passwords especially if you don't trust apps that store them for you.

Glaucus · 13 Apr 2018 at 20:52

Malevolence said:
How will this work for those people who don't have smart phones, like my parents?

Use one of the many other other methods and/or use a password.
A lot of new machines have such biometrics and when this comes in expect virtually all new equipment to have it. You never get instant and total change overnight. So odd comment.