Passwordless authentication involves using other non-knowledge-based factors to authenticate users, thus completely removing the reliance on passwords to authenticate users and instead leaning on things like magic links, biometric factors, smart cards, digital certificates, and more.

With roughly 61% of data breaches involving compromised credentials, and the frequency of cyberattacks increasing, the popularity of password authentication is steadily rising. Gartner reports that 60% of large and global organizations, and 90% of midsize enterprises will implement passwordless methods in over 50% of use cases – up from just 5% in 2018.

Not only does an over-reliance on passwords put your organization at risk of a breach, but it also wastes valuable time managing and resetting these passwords that IT employees could instead be putting towards improving and securing your environment. This wasted time costs money and reduces your organization’s effectiveness. In fact, the 2019 Ponemon Authentication Report found that each employee spends 12.6 minutes per week entering or resetting their passwords, adding up to a staggering number that could be all but eliminated by implementing a Passwordless Authentication structure.

Passwordless Authentication drastically diminishes common password-based attacks like phishing and credential stuffing, creates a seamless experience for end users to the tools they need, and reduces password management costs to IT professionals.

So, how can an organization move towards Passwordless Authentication and catch up to the current trends? Okta offers many solutions for every use case, acting as the building blocks you need to transition your organization to a better state. These include Okta FastPass, magic links, Factor sequencing Desktop Single Sign-On (SSO), Device Trust, and more!

Okta FastPass allows users to register their device with the Okta Verify App, resulting in a passwordless login across any device, browser, desktop application, or native mobile applications. Okta also features the ability to email magic links to validate requests for passwordless authentication into applications that do not require constant re-authentication to grant users access from any device.

Factor sequencing in Okta allows you to use one or multiple factors, dynamically changing the authentication experience for users based on highly assured factors like risk scoring and Okta Verify to completely remove passwords. Desktop single sign-on lets users’ login to Okta on machines that are joined to Active Directory, meaning users can access apps on browsers or desktops that are managed by Okta without the need to enter credentials.

Finally, leveraging Okta Device Trust allows you to manage endpoints and deliver passwordless login on desktop and mobile when you use unified endpoint management software that integrates identity capabilities seamlessly with Okta.

Okta has features to fit each use case for your enterprise, easing the transition to a more seamless, secure, and efficient solution with passwordless authentication.

If you want to learn more about Authentication options visit our Access Management and Authentication & Authorization pages.

Talk to the experts at Identity And Access Solutions to see how your organization can implement Okta’s features to fit your unique needs.