While certainly necessary, using passwords as a way of securing our online accounts can be a pain, particularly when tasked with devising and remembering passwords for multiple online systems. And if someone gets a hold of your password, the consequences can be dreadful. For those who feel the struggle, the good news is a viable alternative is emerging on the horizon. Recently, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) approved WebAuthn – a new authentication standard that aims to replace the password as a way of securing our online accounts. At its core, the new system allows websites to communicate with a security device to let a user log into their service. This device can range from a security key that you can simply plug into a USB port on your computer to a more complex biometric device that allows for an additional level of verification. Now that the standard has been approved by the W3C, the next step is for websites to integrate it, and thus pave the way for a more secure and practical method of securing our online accounts.
In the near future, you may not need a password to log into your online accounts
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