Why Passkeys Replace Passwords
Passkeys are the next generation of authentication credentials, designed from the ground up to eliminate the vulnerabilities that make passwords the number one attack vector in enterprise breaches.
Unlike passwords, passkeys are phishing-resistant by design. There is no shared secret to steal, no credential to replay, and no database of hashed passwords for attackers to exfiltrate.
The Shared Secret Vulnerability
Every password-based system relies on the same fragile premise: both the user and the server know the secret. The user sends the password across the network. The server stores a copy (or a hash of it). If either side is compromised — through phishing, interception, or a database breach — the identity is stolen.
This is not a user failure. It is an architectural failure. No amount of password complexity requirements, rotation policies, or security awareness training can fix a model that is fundamentally broken.
How Passkeys Work
When a user enrolls with a passkey-based system, their device generates a cryptographic key pair:
- Private key — Locked inside the device’s secure hardware (TPM, Secure Enclave, or Android Keystore). It never leaves the device.
- Public key — Sent to the server. It can verify a signature, but it can never produce one.
At login, the server sends a random challenge. The device signs the challenge with the private key — unlocked by the user’s biometric (fingerprint, face scan, or device PIN). The server verifies the signature with the public key. No password crosses the network. No secret is stored on the server.
Even if the server is fully breached, attackers walk away with public keys that cannot authenticate anything.
The Numbers
Passkey-based authentication consistently outperforms passwords on every metric that matters:
| Metric | Passwords | Passkeys |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in success rate | ~80% | Up to 20% higher (FIDO Alliance) |
| Authentication speed | 15-30 seconds | Up to 75% faster (FIDO Alliance) |
| Phishing resistance | None (replayable) | Complete (origin-bound) |
| Server breach exposure | Full credential theft | No usable secrets |
| Help desk ticket load | 20-50% of all tickets (Gartner) | Near zero |
Phishing Resistance by Design
Passkeys are cryptographically bound to the origin (domain) where they were created. A passkey created for id.trustaige.com will never respond to a challenge from id-trustaige.fake-login.com — the browser enforces this at the protocol level, before the user even sees the page.
This means:
- Phishing sites cannot trigger passkey authentication — the credential simply does not exist for the attacker’s domain
- Man-in-the-middle proxies are ineffective — the challenge-response is bound to the legitimate origin
- No user judgment required — the security is enforced by cryptography, not by hoping users spot fake URLs
The Standards Behind Passkeys
Passkeys are built on open, interoperable standards maintained by the organizations that govern the web:
- FIDO2 — The umbrella specification from the FIDO Alliance, unifying browser-side and device-side protocols into a single passwordless authentication framework
- WebAuthn (W3C) — The Web Authentication API that allows any website to request strong authentication using
navigator.credentials - CTAP — Client to Authenticator Protocol, connecting the browser to authenticator hardware over USB, NFC, or Bluetooth
- Passkey sync — Credentials can sync across a user’s device ecosystem via iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager, or credential managers. For high-security environments, device-bound keys that do not sync can be enforced
No vendor lock-in. No proprietary hardware. Passkeys work with the browsers, operating systems, and devices your organization already uses.
Ready to eliminate passwords from your organization? Start your free trial or see how the platform works.