{"id":19902,"date":"2021-09-16T05:15:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T09:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=19902"},"modified":"2021-09-16T05:15:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T09:15:25","slug":"microsofts-passwordless-plans-lets-users-switch-to-app-based-login","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/09\/16\/microsofts-passwordless-plans-lets-users-switch-to-app-based-login\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft&#8217;s passwordless plans lets users switch to app-based login"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Microsoft has announced users can now delete all passwords from their accounts and instead login using an authenticator app or other solution.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The technology giant made passwordless accounts available for business users of its products in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And that system is now being made available to all Microsoft or Windows users.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">It said &#8220;nearly 100% of our employees&#8221; were already using the new, more secure system for their corporate accounts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i810\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-15m9t32-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-1drmwog-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/EC97\/production\/_120576506_authenticate2.png 976w\" alt=\"An example of the authenticator request dialog on a computer screen\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" \/>(Image: Microsoft)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">If passwordless login is enabled, users re-logging in to a Microsoft account will be asked to give their fingerprint, or other secure unlock, on their mobile phone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-49877317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Why passwords don&#8217;t work, and what will replace them<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-56680790\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pets&#8217; names &#8216;used as passwords by millions&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-53421658\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gadget-makers face ban on easy-to-guess passwords<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And this is far more secure than using passwords, which can be guessed or stolen, according to Microsoft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Only you can provide fingerprint authentication or provide the right response on your mobile at the right time,&#8221; it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Windows users will still be able to use quick-login features such as a Pin code, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Some rare exceptions will still need passwords, such as Office 2010, Xbox 360 consoles, and Windows 8.1 or earlier machines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And if access to the authenticator app is lost &#8211; for example, if the phone it is installed on is lost or stolen or a user forgets when upgrading &#8211; backup options can be used, including:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>Windows Hello facial recognition, which requires a compatible laptop or special camera<\/li>\n<li>a physical security key, which must be used on the device logging in<\/li>\n<li>Short Message Service (SMS) or email codes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But SMS and email are two of the most common channels for cyber-criminals targeting specific individuals<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And Microsoft says security-conscious users who have two-factor authentication set up will need to have access to two different recovery methods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i810\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-15m9t32-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1nye9me-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-1drmwog-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/698\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/7E6F\/production\/_120576323_f9392952-f3d0-4de1-82ec-350b2221e094.jpg 976w\" alt=\"Password removed notification\" width=\"698\" height=\"333\" \/><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-1rnnz6t-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22\">Microsoft&#8217;s messaging tells customers no passwords are more secure (Image: Microsoft)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Prof Alan Woodward, part of a research team investigating passwordless authentication, at the University of Surrey, called it &#8220;quite a bold step from Microsoft&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;This isn&#8217;t just logging into PCs, it&#8217;s logging into online services as well&#8221; &#8211; including important ones such as cloud storage, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><a class=\"ssrcss-9nsdc6-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/security\/blog\/2021\/09\/15\/the-passwordless-future-is-here-for-your-microsoft-account\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft laid out its reasons for the new system<\/a>\u00a0in a series of blog posts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Security vice-president Vasu Jakkal wrote: &#8220;Passwords are incredibly inconvenient to create, remember, and manage across all the accounts in our lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;We are expected to create complex and unique passwords, remember them, and change them frequently &#8211; but nobody likes doing that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Instead, people tended to create insecure passwords that technically cleared the bar for using symbols, numbers or case sensitivity &#8211; but in order to remember them, used a repeated formula or the same password on multiple websites.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And that led to hackers guessing them or revealing them in a data breach and reusing them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Hackers don&#8217;t break in, they log in,&#8221; the blog post read.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i86\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-1s5ma9r-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">&#8216;Pummelled home&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The new passwordless feature greets users with a box saying: &#8220;A passwordless account reduces the risk of phishing and password attacks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And once the feature is set up, a confirmation tells users: &#8220;You have increased the security of your account and improved your sign-in experience by removing your password&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Microsoft&#8217;s claims about poor password use were largely true, Prof Woodward said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;The message has been pummelled home about what good password hygiene looks like &#8211; but it&#8217;s easier said than done,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Passwords were a decades-old concept &#8220;and maybe the time is now right to start looking for something different&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But there were no currently agreed standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i87\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18snukc-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;There are a number of different ways this could be done &#8211; and it would be good if everybody moved on, really, and tried to find a way of doing this,&#8221; Prof Woodward said.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/technology-58575954\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Microsoft has announced users can now delete all passwords from their accounts and instead login using an authenticator app or other solution. The technology giant made passwordless accounts available for business users of its products <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2021\/09\/16\/microsofts-passwordless-plans-lets-users-switch-to-app-based-login\/\" title=\"Microsoft&#8217;s passwordless plans lets users switch to app-based login\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[7120,2699,8059],"class_list":{"0":"post-19902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-usa","9":"tag-cyber-security","10":"tag-microsoft","11":"tag-passwords","12":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19904,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19902\/revisions\/19904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}