What is Passwordless Authentication?

Passwordless authentication verifies user identities without passwords or other knowledge-based factors or information. Instead, the security team verifies a user’s identity using either a “something-you-have” type of authentication factor, which is an object that uniquely identifies the user (e.g. a mobile passkey or hardware security key) or a “something-you are” type of factor (e.g. biometrics, including a fingerprint or facial scan). When used to complete multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirements and with single sign-on (SSO) solutions, passwordless authentication can improve user experience, strengthen security, and reduce the cost and complexity of IT operations. Additionally, by removing the need to issue, rotate, remember, or reset passwords, passwordless authentication reduces lowers help desk volume, increases productivity by accelerating login times, and frees up IT teams for higher-value tasks.

Both MFA and passwordless authentication increase security by requiring users to provide more than just a password to verify their identity. But they are different in one important way: MFA increases security by requiring users to provide two or more independent factors to verify their identity—but one of those factors is very likely to be a password.

On the other hand, passwordless authentication avoids passwords entirely, thereby completely eliminating the vulnerabilities that passwords pose, along with the management hassles and help desk burdens they often create.

Easy to hack

Unlike possession and inherent factors, traditional authentication is based solely on something the user knows, such as a password, that is by nature vulnerable to reuse, theft, and phishing. The 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that 2.8 million passwords were leaked or compromised publicly in 2024, and 54% of ransomware was tied directly to password.

Constant management

Both IT staff and users must constantly manage passwords. For the average user, keeping track of ever-multiplying passwords of varying complexity is at minimum a hassle, and often a challenge. Forgotten passwords can delay work or trigger account lockouts. To aid memory, users often reuse passwords across accounts or write them down, further compromising an already weak system. Password reuse can also multiply the impact of hijacking, phishing, and data breaches, making it possible for an attacker to unlock multiple accounts with a single stolen password.

The high cost of passwords

For IT staff, managing password resets even for legitimate users can be an expensive and time-consuming activity. At larger businesses, as much as 50 percent of IT help desk costs are allocated to password resets; that can amount to more than $1 million in annual staffing, just to help employees reset their passwords. Resets also divert attention from higher-value digital transformation agendas or defending against sophisticated cyber attacks.Translated

Security

Weak or stolen credentials are among the most frequent and most damaging threat vectors that organizations face. The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report found that phishing was one of the most frequent causes of data breaches, costing an average of $4.88 million and taking an average of 261 days to contain. Given that phishing attacks target credentials generally and passwords specifically, this statistic underscores the significant cybersecurity risk that passwords create for organizations, as well as the importance of implementing passwordless solutions.

When passwords are compromised, organizations face serious risks that could lead to data theft, financial losses, and damage to their reputation. Prioritizing secure credential policies and moving to passwordless are essential steps to guard against these frequent and avoidable vulnerabilities.

User Experience

On the user experience front, the average corporate user manages a cumbersome 87 passwords for work-related accounts, creating both a burden and a security risk. The 2025 RSA ID IQ Report found that more than 51% of all respondents had to input their passwords six times or more for work every day. Remembering and keeping track of multiple passwords can lead to poor practices, such as reusing passwords or storing them insecurely, which further increases organizations’ cybersecurity risks. Simplifying user authentication not only enhances security but also improves the day-to-day experience for employees, reducing frustration and encouraging better password hygiene.

Total cost of ownership

The total cost of ownership for password management is high, with password reset requests accounting for up to 50% of IT help desk call volume. Each reset request consumes time and resources that could otherwise be used on more strategic IT initiatives. Reducing the number of password resets through more secure and efficient authentication methods can cut costs and improve operational efficiency, freeing up IT staff for more impactful work.Translated

Passwordless authentication provides a single, strong assurance of user identity. For organizations, this means:Translated

• TranslatedBetter user experience: Users no longer need to remember and update complex password and username combinations just to be productive. With streamlined authentication, users can log in faster with less frustration.
• TranslatedStronger security posture: Without user-controlled passwords, there is no password to hack, eliminating a whole class of vulnerabilities and a major source of data breaches.
• TranslatedReduction in total cost of ownership (TCO): Passwords are expensive, requiring constant monitoring and maintenance by IT staff. Removing passwords eliminates the need to issue, secure, rotate, reset and manage them; reduces the volume of support tickets; and frees IT to deal with more pressing issues.
• TranslatedIT control and visibility: Phishing, reuse and sharing are common problems in password-protected systems. With passwordless authentication, IT reclaims complete visibility into identity and access management.

Translated

As the name suggests, passwordless authentication, or password-free authentication, eliminates memorized passwords as a requirement for verification. Instead, users authenticate their identity with more secure methods such as:

• Generated one-time passcodes (OTPs)
• Mobile passkey
• QR code
• Code matching
• FIDO2 security keys
• Biometrics to complete the authentication process

Passwordless authentication uses a range of authentication and encryption protocols. One key difference between passwordless and traditional authentication is that, unlike traditional authentication, passwordless credentials are not fixed or reused. Instead, new authentication data is generated at the beginning of each session.Translated

Cybersecurity standards and regulations are vital in validating modern authentication approaches. They can help teams determine which authentication or sign-in methods are worth investing in, building, and rolling out. In government agencies, banks, and other highly regulated, complex environments, they can also guide system design and audit checklists.

Organizations seeking to implement passwordless authentication successfully can look to a variety of frameworks to guide procurement, architecture, and implementation in regulated or security-first environments. Zero Trust optimal and advanced stages, for example, call for phishing-resistant passwordless authentication, such as a passkey or security key.

NIST 800-63 Compliance

• NIST SP 800-63-3 outlines Digital Identity Guidelines for US federal agencies and critical infrastructure sectors.
• Passwordless authentication supports Authentication Assurance Levels (AAL2 and AAL3).
• RSA supports multi-factor authentication with phishing-resistant authenticators that meet AAL3.
• Methods like FIDO2, biometrics, cryptographic tokens can be mapped to NIST recommendations.

FIDO2 and Phishing Resistance

• RSA supports FIDO2 and WebAuthn standards for hardware and software authenticators.
• FIDO2 eliminates shared secrets (no stored passwords)
• FIDO-certified hardware (e.g., RSA iShield Key 2) meets enterprise-grade requirements.
• Supported use cases include workstation login, web apps, and cloud SSO.

Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) Alignment

• Zero Trust assumes no implicit trust in users or devices—identity is verified continuously.
• Phishing resistant passwordless (device-bound passkeys and security keys) support continuous authentication, device binding, and contextual access.
• RSA integrates risk scoring, behavioral analytics, and adaptive authentication to enforce Zero Trust access decisions.
• ZTA ties into broader IAM/GRC and endpoint security strategies.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Readiness

• Strong authentication is a requirement across HIPAA, PCI-DSS, CJIS, and other compliance regimes.
• Passwordless helps reduce audit scope and control overhead by eliminating password rotation, reset logs, and storage policies.
• RSA provides audit trails and identity assurance metrics.

Translated

To go from a passwords-for-everything approach to a passwordless future, take it one step at a time, using these best practices for implementation:

1. Take a gradual approach that’s easy on users. Start with one access point or user group, then expand from there to give users time to learn the system.
2. Focus on convenience as much as security. The easier an authentication method is to use, the more likely users are to adhere to its guidelines.
3. Apply strong authentication at weak points first. Where does traditional authentication leave you most vulnerable? Start there.
4. Keep your eyes on the prize. Steady improvement adds up.

Organizations working in complex IT environments that span cloud, hybrid, on-premises, and legacy infrastructure should ask the following questions while evaluating passwordless solutions:

How can passwordless authentication scale across hybrid and multi-cloud environments without forcing a complete rebuild of existing infrastructure?

To enhance security and control costs, organizations that span complex environments should prioritize passwordless solutions capable of supporting every user everywhere that they work. Without an enterprise-grade solution, organizations would need to implement point passwordless capabilities for individual user groups and environments. These niche solutions leave security gaps, are cumbersome for users to manage, and are inefficient for security and finance teams to manage.

Enterprise-grade passwordless solutions remove these inefficiencies. By deploying one passwordless solution across environments, organizations enhance their security by gaining comprehensive visibility into all authentications and enforcing policies at scale. The best passwordless solutions will allow organizations to maintain the legacy and on-premises investments without “rip-and-replace” initiatives.

Can a passwordless solution provide consistent security and user experience across a remote and on-site workforce?

To provide consistent security and user experience, organizations need an enterprise-level solution capable of supporting every user in every environment. Lacking a cross-enterprise solution will result in organizations needing to deploy point capabilities for individual user groups and environments. These point solutions will not provide a consistent user experience and will create security gaps.

Customizable policy controls for governance and compliance

A successful passwordless strategy depends not only on using strong authentication methods that identify who has access, but also tailoring access policies to organizational needs, to make sure the user has access to the right resources. Many passwordless solutions offer configurable policy engines that allow security and compliance teams to define role-based permissions, enforce separation of duties, and adapt access controls to specific governance requirements. These controls are essential in regulated environments where auditability, least-privilege access, and conditional authentication must align with internal policies and external standards.translated

Many organizations rely on mission-critical infrastructure associated with on-premises identity providers such as Active Directory or LDAP. A flexible passwordless solution should be able to integrate with these legacy systems while also supporting cloud directories. This interoperability ensures a smoother transition by extending modern authentication to existing infrastructure, thus minimizing disruption and allowing IT teams to unify identity access without a full system replacement.translated

Resiliency is critical for passwordless solutions, to ensure they can continue to operate reliably even when threatened by attacks or other potential interruptions to operations. Regulatory frameworks like DORA and <a href="”https://www.rsa.com/resources/blog/zero-trust/nis2-identity-it-and-ot-stay-operational-stay-resilient/”">NIS2</a> set forth guidance for this in areas such as incident reporting, business continuity, and third-party security.translated

RSA offers the world’s most widely deployed MFA capabilities, trusted on-premises and in the cloud by security-first organizations worldwide. MFA from RSA includes:

• A wide range of passwordless authentication options, including the FIDO-certified RSA iShield Key 2 series and RSA Authenticator App 4.5 for iOS and Android mobile devices; push-to-approve, code matching; fingerprint and facial biometrics; “bring your own authenticator”; and hardware tokens that represent the gold standard for Each of these solutions delivers phishing-resistant capabilities that allow users to log into cloud/SaaS or web-based applications, as well as Windows and macOS machines.
• RSA Ready partner relationships with FIDO authentication leaders, ensuring out-of-the-box interoperability with FIDO-based passwordless solutions.
• Risk scoring informed by advanced AI and machine learning that calculates access risk based on various signals like business context, device attributes, and behavioral analytics, then steps up or blocks authentication accordingly. The RSA passwordless environment also integrates with SOC tools like Splunk.
• Protected self-service credential management options that eliminate password-dependent workflows to shore up security in onboarding, credential recovery, and emergency access.
• Always-on strong authentication, with 99.99%+ availability and a unique multi-platform hybrid failover capability that ensures secure, convenient access even when network connectivity is interrupted

translated

What does it mean to go passwordless?

Going passwordless means eliminating passwords as a method of authentication and verifying user identities through more secure factors like biometrics (something you are) or possession-based factors (something you have) such as registered mobile devices or hardware tokens. Passwordless authentication removes the need for users to remember, reset, or manage passwords, while providing a stronger defense against phishing and credential-based attacks. With RSA, organizations can deploy passwordless authentication gradually, starting with high-risk areas and expanding to enterprise-wide coverage.

What technology is commonly used in passwordless authentication?

Passwordless authentication solutions use a combination of secure technologies, including FIDO2 security keys, biometrics (fingerprint or facial recognition), mobile push notifications, device-bound credentials, and one-time passcodes (OTPs). RSA passwordless options include the RSA iShield Key 2 Series for phishing-resistant hardware authentication, as well as mobile passkeys through the RSA Authenticator App. These technologies are aligned with frameworks like NIST 800-63, FIDO2, and Zero Trust Architecture to ensure secure and scalable deployment across hybrid environments.

Is passwordless really more secure?

Yes, passwordless authentication is significantly more secure than traditional password-based methods. Passwords are often the weakest link in security, as they can be phished, stolen, reused, or brute-forced. By eliminating passwords entirely, RSA passwordless solutions remove a major attack vector, protecting against phishing, credential stuffing, and man-in-the-middle attacks. Phishing-resistant authenticators, device-bound credentials, and biometric translatedverification ensure that access is granted only to verified users, dramatically reducing the risk of credential-based breaches.