Passwords are a necessary nuisance that never should have survived this long. If you’ve ever wondered how many of yours are out there being bought and sold you may want to check out haveibeenpwned.com/. There are password managers, fingerprints and face scans that have all tried to solve the problem but the weakest of them all, the recalled password is still the backup and go-to solution. In many cases, it doesn’t even matter how strong the password is anymore with so many different ways of gaining access to those strong passwords and accounts beyond brute force attempts. As we move toward a more integrated world of mobile technology (Internet of things, sharing economy etc.) It will not be reasonable to enter passwords all over the place.
Two factor authentication has been around for a while now but it was, in essence, an evolving password and is still tedious. Microsoft has recently improved their authentication process through their Authenticator app to the point where they are encouraging users to “delete your password from your Microsoft account” (Chik, 2021). Instead of a flawed recall and bot blockers (those blurry images where you identify street lights), Microsoft focuses on “something you have, plus something you are or something you know” (Microsoft, 2021). For mobile technology this process is much more intuitive and will hopefully be the D#@th 0f T#e P@$$w0&D!
Chik, J. (2021, September 16). Introducing password removal for Microsoft accounts. Introducing password removal for Microsoft Accounts. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-active-directory-identity/introducing-password-removal-for-microsoft-accounts/ba-p/2747280.
Ha, J, et al. (2021, June 28). Azure active directory passwordless Sign-in. Azure Active Directory passwordless sign-in. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-ca/azure/active-directory/authentication/concept-authentication-passwordless.