This is no surprise that this is coming from Microsoft since they have been pushing to move away from using passwords for some time now. That’s the whole reason Windows 10 has adopted so many ways to login using the Windows Hello feature. They are also not the only major company behind the movement. Google and many others are pushing for the same.
Why is this? Because passwords are indeed insecure. They are an outdated method of securing your personal data with and most people don’t even put any effort into creating difficult passwords. With modern technology, both humans and bots can guess their way past the majority of passwords out there using methods like brute force. Even the more complex passwords are starting to waiver as we push further toward quantum computing.
Microsoft is pushing to get rid of them with a major move toward biometrics as a replacement for these passwords, allowing you to summarize everything down to the tip of your finger. Consider any future sci-fi books, show, or movie, and consider how many of them predict a future where your fingerprint gains you everything. From logging into sites, accessing your accounts, or gaining entry to your home. The days of Altered Carbon are here (minus the ability to clone ourselves at least).
Windows Hello will be highlighted in 2021 as they push toward educating the world away from passwords and toward these alternative methods. Microsoft has pointed out that there has been a huge increase in usage of Windows Hello and other technologies that allow users to do just this, and believe that this will be the year that makes all the difference.
With support services around the world that are overwhelmed with users calling into them to reset passwords, they also believe it is going to save a lot of time and money since users won’t be forced to remember anything.
It is true though as passwords continue to get easier to crack each year. Many of us here use 30+ character passwords that are littered with special characters and all sorts of stipulations. Never to be used more than once and stored within a digital vault using military encryption. Because you never know when even a password as secure as that can be broken into due to a data breach or enhancements in the tools that criminals use to figure them out with.
Of course, biometrics aren’t 100% either and, as humans, we will absolutely find every way possible to discover all of the vulnerabilities possible to take advantage of. However, for now, it proves to be the perfect move from passwords, or at least a secondary authentication to back those passwords up with.
