How Passkeys Use Cryptography to Replace Passwords and Block Phishing
Passkeys are a modern authentication standard built on WebAuthn and FIDO2 specifications that eliminate the use of shared secrets like passwords. Instead of transmitting a password, the system uses asymmetric cryptography: a private key stored securely on the user's device and a public key registered with the website. During login, the server issues a cryptographic challenge that the device signs with the private key, and the server verifies the signature using the stored public key. Because the private key is bound to a specific domain and never leaves the device unencrypted, passkeys are inherently resistant to phishing, credential stuffing, server breaches, and man-in-the-middle attacks. This origin-binding feature means even a convincing lookalike website cannot trick the authenticator into releasing credentials.
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