teissTalk: Provisioning passwordless authentication at scale

teissTalk Host Jenny Radcliffe was joined by Jeremy Green, Cyber Security Advisory Manager, Vodafone and Jason Soroko, CTO of PKI, Sectigo.

 

Is Windows 11 another nail in the password’s coffin?
News of Windows 11 offering built-in chip to cloud protection to meet the new security challenges of hybrid work indicates that cyber security is catching up with the improvised work environments and the proliferation of endpoint devices that Covid has brought on.

 

The move means that Microsoft extending its passwordless sign-in option from enterprise customers to consumers. Although this shift could in the long run secure communication between the computer’s CPU and the cloud for millions of users, computers’ ability to run Microsoft’s latest operating system will depend on their age and the type of processor they use (they will need TPM or Trusted Platform Module).

 

At the moment, the option for password free login is only for Microsoft accounts, but this will extend to Microsoft apps on iOS, Android, and Windows.

 

Biometrics – the silver bullet or just some alternative to a username?
Different forms of passwordless authentication have already been around for some time in enterprises. Although the technology exists, upscaling it to millions of users presents major challenges. Military level biometrical authentication does exist, for example, but it’s too expensive for wider adoption. Passwords are also increasingly becoming outdated due to recent shifts in the business and work environments.