October 15, 2024 at 04:54PM
Amazon has reported that over 175 million customers now use passkeys, enhancing sign-in speed significantly. Passkeys function as biometric or PIN-based digital credentials, improving security against breaches. Amazon plans to extend this feature to other services, while the FIDO alliance has introduced a new specification for portable passkeys.
**Meeting Takeaways: Amazon’s Passkey Adoption**
1. **Significant Adoption**: Amazon has reported over 175 million customers have enabled passkeys for their accounts, showcasing a major shift towards passwordless authentication.
2. **Speed of Sign-In**: Users benefit from faster sign-ins, with passkey logins being approximately six times quicker than traditional password methods.
3. **Growth Trend**: There is continuous growth in adoption as more customers discover the convenience of using passkeys for passwordless sign-in.
4. **Technical Overview**:
– Passkeys utilize digital credentials linked to biometric authentication or a PIN, stored securely on user devices (phones, computers, USB keys).
– The encryption process involves generating a private key (stored securely) and a public key shared with online services.
– Authentication occurs through a cryptographic challenge that requires user verification via PIN or biometric data.
5. **Security Advantages**:
– Passkeys are designed to enhance security; they mitigate risks associated with data breaches, phishing, and malware, as they rely on secure device chips and short-lived challenges.
6. **Ease of Access**: Amazon customers can set up passkeys via their account settings, making the transition to this new authentication method user-friendly.
7. **Service Expansion**: Following the success with Amazon accounts, the company plans to integrate passkey functionality into additional services like AWS and Audible.
8. **Non-Portability Issue**: One limitation is the non-portability of passkeys across different devices or password managers.
9. **FIDO Alliance Update**: The FIDO alliance has announced a new specification that will enable the portability of passkeys across various platforms and password managers, potentially addressing current limitations.