Passwords are the worst things ever. Okay, maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic, but they are pretty annoying. Here are the top hits of their most obnoxious qualities: One, they cause friction to get things done. Two, who can remember all their passwords? Three, it’s easy for bad actors to steal them. Four, practically everything requires a password now, so there are just too many. Mickey Boodaei, the CEO of Transmit Security, also agrees that passwords are terrible, but he has a solution to get rid of them.

Main Takeaways

• The Problems With Passwords: Passwords have become ubiquitous. Despite the good intention behind them to foster security, they remain cumbersome and ineffective. The layers added to passwords to make them more secure are insufficient. Two-factor authentication remains vulnerable to bad actors. Though biometric authentication is a helpful technology, many apps that attempt to harness it still have a password underneath the biometrics.
• Getting Rid of Passwords: Biometric data held on secure devices is part of the solution to move people beyond passwords. The data on a private device is very secure overall. Furthermore, it is possible to create trust between devices to provide access to applications, etc.
• Cryptographic Keys: Biometric data on a secure device can then be used for authentication through the creation of parallel cryptographic keys — a private key that stays with the device and a corresponding public key connected to an application. Using this technology, the private key always remains secure on the individual device. This makes it very difficult for bad actors to access any data of import.  

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