A passkey is a phishing-resistant digital credential bound to your device. Instead of typing a password that can be stolen from a database or captured by a phishing site, you approve a sign-in using your device's biometric sensor (Face ID, fingerprint) or PIN. Passkeys cannot be phished, cannot be reused, and do not exist in a form that can be stolen from a company's servers.
When you create a password, a copy (usually hashed) is stored on the service's server. When you log in, you type the password, the server verifies the hash, and you are in.
Problems:
The global credential breach industry exists because of these weaknesses.
A passkey uses public-key cryptography. When you create a passkey for a website:
Because the private key never leaves your device and the verification is site-specific, there is nothing for a phishing site to capture and nothing useful in the server's database if it is breached.
Yes, significantly. Passkeys eliminate the three largest credential attack surfaces simultaneously: phishing, credential stuffing (reused passwords tested across sites), and server breach. Security researchers and organisations including NCSC UK and CISA treat passkeys as the most meaningful authentication improvement in two decades.
The only meaningful limitation is device dependency, if you lose the device and have no backup passkey or recovery method, you need to use an account recovery flow. This is solvable with proper setup.
Yes. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both support passkeys for user sign-in. Many business SaaS applications now accept passkeys directly or via SSO from an identity provider that supports FIDO2.
For Microsoft 365, passkeys are available in Entra ID and can be enforced via authentication policy. For Google Workspace, passkeys are supported as an authentication method in Google Account settings.
Yes, for now. Most business applications still use passwords. You will have passkeys for some accounts and passwords for others for the foreseeable future. Password managers increasingly store passkeys as well, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Apple Keychain all support passkey storage, which also solves the device-loss problem.
What happens if I lose my phone and my passkey is on it? You need an account recovery method: a backup passkey on another device, a hardware security key, or the account's standard recovery flow. Storing passkeys in a password manager synced across devices solves this.
Are passkeys the same as hardware security keys? Related but different. Hardware security keys (YubiKey etc.) are physical FIDO2 devices. Passkeys are the software credential format, which can be stored on your device or a hardware key.
Do passkeys work on all browsers? All major modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) support passkeys. Some older business applications may not yet support them.
Is passkey authentication faster than typing a password? Yes. A biometric approval on a smartphone or laptop takes about one second. It is faster than typing a password and far more secure.
Can North Star IT roll out passkeys for my business? Yes. North Star runs passkey rollouts as part of broader MFA and identity modernisation projects for Canadian SMBs across Northern BC, Alberta, and Yukon.
Ready to move beyond passwords? Call 672-983-1174 or book a free identity security review at northstarit.ca.
Quick answers.
What is a passkey?
A passkey is a phishing-resistant credential bound to a device. Instead of typing a password, you approve a sign-in on your phone or computer using a biometric or PIN.
Are passkeys more secure than passwords?
Yes. Passkeys cannot be phished, cannot be stolen in a database breach, and cannot be reused across sites. They are the single biggest authentication upgrade in 20 years.
Can I use passkeys at work?
Yes. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace both support passkeys for sign-in. Many business apps now accept passkeys directly or via SSO.
Do I still need a password manager with passkeys?
Yes. Most apps still use passwords. Password managers also store passkeys in many cases, which keeps your credentials portable across devices.
Can Northstar IT roll out passkeys?
Yes. North Star runs passkey rollouts as part of broader MFA and identity modernization projects for Canadian SMBs.
Have a specific situation in mind?
Book a free 30-minute scoping call with a Northstar IT engineer. We will walk through your environment, your questions, and what good looks like for your team.
Get a Free Assessment More guides