PassKeys seem like a bad idea. Google backs them up to the cloud, so if your Google account is compromised then all your private keys are compromised. I don't see how that's an improvement over password+2FA at all.
Now security keys I get; keep the private key on an airgapped device. That's good. Hell I even keep my 2FA-OTP salts on a YubiKey.
The funniest part is that no matter how many security factors we use to replace passwords (two factor auth, passkeys, security keys, etc) there's always a backup that's just another password.
Structural security trumps computational security ... or ...
Diffuse structural security trumps amalgamated computational security ...
All your big, strong passkeys in one basket is less secure than your passwords in many individual baskets ...
Trying to explain this to tech bros can resemble pushing a wagon uphill ...
Because they want to sell something, logic is not paramount.
"A password in my brain is generally safer than an app or SMS stream that can be compromised. Although a passphrase may in some cases not be computationally more secure than a token mechanism or two-factor sytem, the simple passphrase is often structurally more secure because that passphrase only links to and exposes one service target."
"I like to compare it to having one basket of eggs in one spot, and many baskets of eggs in many places. If your one basket of eggs has the master key to all the other stronger keys, is it easier to get the one basket, or the many baskets with weaker keys? So in this scenario cipher strength is not the most important factor for security. With a single basket one fox or pick-pocket or one search warrant can own all of your eggs for all your services."
Google has kicked off World Password Day by announcing that over 400 million users have used passkeys since the tech giant rolled them out, logging over one billion authentications between them.
Passkeys rely on device-based authentication, often using a fingerprint scanner or face recognition, which makes logging in faster and more secure. Despite this, our passwordless future still feels some way off — @theverge considers why.