{"id":18659,"date":"2025-04-04T12:52:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.collierclerk.com\/?p=18659"},"modified":"2026-01-20T12:59:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:59:31","slug":"passkeys-101-the-future-of-authentication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/passkeys-101-the-future-of-authentication\/","title":{"rendered":"Passkeys 101: The Future of Authentication"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, traditional passwords are becoming a liability. Weak, reused, or stolen passwords are often the entry point for cyberattacks, putting both individuals and organizations at risk. Enter <strong>passkeys<\/strong>, a modern and more secure way to authenticate users without relying on passwords. Passkeys leverage cryptographic authentication to ensure stronger protection while simplifying the login experience. While they may sound foreign and advanced \u2013 you\u2019ve probably already been using them for years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passkey Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A passkey is a form of multifactor authentication (MFA) \u2013 also known as two-factor authentication or 2FA \u2013 that relies on <strong>multiple different factors<\/strong> to authenticate the user with a central authority. The types of authentication factors are composed of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Knowledge: <\/strong>Something you know, like a username and password<\/li>\n<li><strong>Possession: <\/strong>Something you have, like a smart card or security token<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inherence: <\/strong>Something you are, like a fingerprint, voice, or iris pattern<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Forms of authentication that you are probably familiar with already include <strong>biometrics<\/strong> &#8211; like a fingerprint or your facial features, <strong>passwords or patterns<\/strong> and <strong>physical devices<\/strong> \u2013 like USB keys or smartphones. MFA relies on these different types of information to securely identify individuals who are trying to access sensitive data as it is less likely for third parties to have access to more than one \u201cfactor\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Passkeys Work<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unlike passwords, passkeys use <strong>public-key cryptography<\/strong> to verify a user\u2019s identity. When you create a passkey (say to log into your Google account), your device generates two keys:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>private key<\/strong>, stored securely on your device and never shared.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>public key<\/strong>, sent to the service you\u2019re logging into \u2013 usually stored on a remote server.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18660 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.collierclerk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"340\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-3.png 340w, https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-content\/uploads\/Picture1-3-150x85.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/>During authentication, the user\u2019s device uses the private key to sign a challenge sent by the service, and the service verifies the signature using the stored public key, effectively proving the user&#8217;s identity without ever exposing the private key itself; this process relies on <strong>asymmetric<\/strong> cryptography, making passkeys a secure method for passwordless authentication. Since the private key never leaves your device, attackers can&#8217;t steal it through phishing, brute-force attacks, or data breaches. Many passkeys also integrate with biometric authentication (like Face ID or fingerprint scanning), making the login process both seamless and secure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why Organizations Need Passkeys <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For businesses, weak passwords are a major security risk, leading to data breaches, financial losses, and compliance issues. Passkeys help to reduce these risks by eliminating passwords altogether. They also improve user experience &#8211; employees don\u2019t have to remember complex passwords or reset them frequently &#8211; reducing IT help desk costs. With major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft adopting passkeys, businesses that embrace this technology will be ahead of the curve in security.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Added Security via Physical Touch Passkeys<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Collier County Clerk of Courts employs a phishing-resistant authentication method that uses touch passkeys. These touch passkeys use leading industry standards to thwart situations where an attacker tries to intercept a login remotely. Essentially, without the physical passkey in their possession the attacker can&#8217;t proceed.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/designrr.page\/?id=470704&amp;token=4190383205&amp;h=8564\">Read and download the April 2025 Newsletter here.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity, traditional passwords are becoming a liability. Weak, reused, or stolen passwords are often the &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Passkeys 101: The Future of Authentication\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/passkeys-101-the-future-of-authentication\/#more-18659\" aria-label=\"Read more about Passkeys 101: The Future of Authentication\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":18660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1522,1523,1521,1094,1524],"class_list":["post-18659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements","tag-authentication","tag-multifactor-authentication-mfa","tag-passkeys","tag-security","tag-two-factor-authentication-or-2fa","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-25","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18754,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18659\/revisions\/18754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/app.collierclerk.com\/collierclerkcom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}