Faster and more secure: Microsoft is pushing to do away with passwords and move to access keys

Microsoft is strengthening the security of its ecosystem and suggests that users abandon standard passwords in favour of passkeys.

Here's What We Know

The American company believes that passkeys are much safer and more effective than traditional multi-digit passwords and now users will be greeted with an updated interface without having to make up a password when signing up for a new account.

Microsoft has calculated that logging into an account using access keys takes 8 times less time than entering passwords, but it also significantly reduces the risk of account hacking. In 2024, for example, there were more than 7,000 attacks on user passwords per second, double the rate in 2023, so Microsoft will be pushing hard for the use of access keys.

Existing accounts with passwords will not be affected by the changes.

Source: Microsoft