The National Cyber Security Centre has officially declared that passkeys should be the first choice for consumer authentication. Passwords are no longer recommended where passkeys are available. A new technical report confirms passkeys are at least as secure as the strongest password combined with two-step verification - and significantly easier to use.
Passkeys authenticate using your fingerprint, face, or device PIN - no passwords to remember or type. Studies show they're eight times faster than traditional password login flows.
Passkeys are cryptographically bound to the website they were created for. They simply cannot be entered on a fake site, making phishing attacks fundamentally ineffective.
The average person juggles dozens of credentials. Passkeys eliminate forgotten passwords, reset loops, and the temptation to reuse the same password across multiple services.
Organisations adopting passkeys see reduced helpdesk calls for password resets, lower account takeover rates, and improved user satisfaction scores - security that saves money.
More than half of UK Google account holders already use passkeys - the highest adoption rate globally.
Apple, Google, and Microsoft have integrated passkey support across their platforms - available on virtually every modern device.
The UK Government is rolling out passkey-based authentication for its own digital services - it's becoming the standard at every level.
The NCSC's technical report confirms passkeys are at least as secure as the strongest password combined with two-step verification.
Dramatically easier for people to actually use day-to-day compared to passwords and two-step verification combined.
Not just a consumer convenience - passkeys are becoming the standard for secure identity verification across business and government.
Turn on passkeys on Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other business-critical platforms that now support them.
Make passkeys the recommended first option for staff in your authentication policy. Where passkeys aren't yet available, use strong unique passwords from a password manager alongside two-step verification.
Passkeys are new to many people. A short explainer goes a long way. The transition doesn't need to happen overnight, but the direction of travel is now officially set.
Passkeys authenticate in seconds using your fingerprint, face, or device PIN - eight times faster than traditional password flows.
More than half of UK Google account holders already use passkeys - the highest adoption rate of any country globally.
The NCSC confirms passkeys match the security of the strongest password combined with two-step verification - in a single step.
Passkeys are cryptographically bound to the site they were created for. They cannot be entered on a fake site - phishing becomes impossible.