Microsoft’s Push for Passwordless Accounts in 2021

Microsoft made its bold claim over on its Security blog. The software giant shows off its track record for 2020, claiming that it was a big push for using biometrics over passwords. This includes the changes made to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center that allows businesses to migrate to biometrics over passwords.

Now, with the stage set for fingerprint logins, Microsoft wants to make 2021 the year that passwordless logins become the norm. It aims to achieve this using Windows Hello, its native biometrics scanning tool that lets you log in to Windows 10 with your fingerprint.

Microsoft is confident that people will adopt the biometrics method, and has some impressive statistics to share:

Is Biometrics Really Better Than Passwords?

The move to fingerprint scanners may seem like a fantastic idea. After all, it’s a lot easier to forget a password to an account than it is to forget that you have fingers.

Microsoft, too, believes that the password is ready to be put out to pasture:

That doesn’t necessarily mean that biometrics are strictly better than passwords. It may initially seem that way, as it’s a lot harder to guess or forge someone’s fingerprint than it is to get their password. However, when a hacker does gain access to someone’s fingerprint, you can’t change it as you can a password; it’s forever compromised.

As such, if Microsoft really wants the password to become a relic of the past, it needs to make the alternatives safer and quicker. Only then will it succeed in nudging people over to fingerprint scanners instead of entering their passwords to log in.

A Potentially Safer Future at Your Fingertips

Microsoft has been working away at making biometrics the new way to log on. The company wants 2021 to be the year we finally make the jump; the question is, will the general public have an equally sizable passion for fingerprint scanners?

That’s not to say that biometrics are the only alternative out there. Pattern locks and PIN codes also exist, and each method has its own pros and cons to consider.

Image Credit: Jaromir Chalabala / Shutterstock.com