iOS 16 with Passkey: No more classic passwords from Apple
With iOS 16, Apple wants to introduce “Passkey”, which makes entering classic passwords obsolete. Instead, cryptographic keys should take over these functions and offer high security for users with previously weak passwords. Read more about this below.
Passwords are a nuisance for many users. They’re either too complex and users don’t remember them, or they’re too simple, making the combined accounts easy to crack. In order to counteract this, Apple has now presented “PassKey” at the WWDC, which is intended to prevent annoying entries and at the same time be very secure. The function is to be introduced with iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura and is based on the FIDO standard, which the competition from Google and Microsoft also want to use.
Apple iOS 16: Three iPhones are no longer supported
The technical process begins when a user creates any new account. A cryptographic key pair is created that is unique to a specific end device or account. The public key remains on the server of the application provider, in this case Apple, while the private key remains secure on the end device. To log in, the user must unlock their device with a password, thumbprint or Face ID, which uses the biometric data to generate a digital signature using the private key. This signature is now sent to Apple and compared with the stored code. If they match, the account is released and the user is logged in without a complex password.
Apple hopes that this new measure will reduce phishing attempts and problems with customers who only have very simple passwords and sometimes use them for several accounts. The collection of keys that results from the use of many apps is secured via iCloud with end-to-end encryption and can therefore also be restored. According to current information, the final implementations of PassKey are to appear in the fall.
Reference-www.pcgameshardware.de
