Do the math
Traditional passwords are insecure and a pain to use. According to a 2023 Forbes Advisor report, cybercriminals stole passwords from 46% of Americans within the previous year. On the other hand, passkeys—which are based on the FIDO2 standard and can utilize biometrics—are raising the bar on authentication security and ease of use.
Google’s 2023 Security Blog notes, “Passkeys were originally designed to provide simpler and more secure authentication experiences for users, and so far, the technology has proven to be simpler and faster than passwords.” The authentication success rate for passwords is typically below 14%, but it’s over 63% with local passkeys. Google also notes how much faster passkeys are: Traditional passwords take twice as long to log in.
Biometric authentication isn’t invulnerable. But with FIDO2, companies can benefit from improvements to the cost of ownership, time to value, and customer friction. For users, the math is also looking good: no more forgotten passwords, fewer security incidents, and better productivity. While misconceptions about biometrics will continue to circulate, the reality is that biometrics is the path to smoother, safer authentication.
