How to go fully passwordless

Implementing passkeys represents a monumental leap forward in authentication security, but it's not the complete journey. If you've already deployed passkeys, you're likely celebrating improved security metrics, but how do you actually transition from having passkeys to achieving fully passwordless authentication?

Passkeys offer critical security advantages through their phishing-resistant design using public-key cryptography bound to specific domains, making it impossible for attackers to trick users into authenticating to fraudulent sites. They eliminate credential reuse since each passkey is unique to a specific service, meaning a compromise of one service doesn't affect others. Furthermore they provide immunity to brute-force attacks by replacing memorized secrets with cryptographic keys that cannot be guessed or cracked.

Yet these powerful advantages evaporate the moment a user can bypass passkey authentication and log in with a password instead. This raises a crucial question: Why aren't passkeys alone enough for complete security? The answer lies in understanding that as long as the password door remains open, attackers will try to walk through it. Even more important is the question, what makes account recovery the hidden vulnerability that can undermine your entire passkey implementation? Recent high-profile breaches have shown that attackers increasingly target recovery flows rather than primary authentication.

This article will guide you through the complete journey from implementing passkeys to achieving true passwordless security, addressing each of these critical questions with practical solutions and real-world examples.

True passwordless authentication means completely eliminating passwords from your security architecture. In a passwordless system, users cannot set, reset or use passwords at any point in their authentication journey. Instead, authentication relies entirely on cryptographic methods like passkeys.

Many organizations claim to be "passwordless" while still maintaining passwords in the background as a fallback option. This isn't true passwordless, but rather just password-optional. The distinction matters because as long as passwords exist anywhere in your system, including recovery flows, they remain an exploitable vulnerability that attackers will target.

True passwordless security requires both eliminating passwords from primary authentication AND ensuring recovery processes are equally phishing-resistant.

Maintaining passwords as a fallback option preserves every attack vector that passkeys are designed to eliminate. Attackers simply pivot their phishing campaigns to target password entry, while credential stuffing and password spraying attacks continue using stolen credentials from other breaches. Social engineering remains effective as users can still be tricked into revealing passwords to fake support agents.

As long as passwords exist, they remain the weakest link, a single entry point that completely circumvents the phishing-resistant security of passkey.

Looking solely at the login experience isn't enough either. A critical but often overlooked attack vector is the account recovery flow. Even organizations that have implemented passkeys can remain vulnerable if their recovery process relies on phishable methods like SMS OTPs or email magic links.

Consider the high-profile MGM Resorts breach in 2023, where attackers didn't target the primary authentication system but exploited the account recovery process through social engineering, bypassing all primary security measures. Similarly, the Okta support system breach demonstrated how recovery flows can become the weakest link, allowing attackers to reset credentials and gain unauthorized access to customer environments.

These incidents underscore a crucial truth: implementing passkeys without securing the recovery flow is like installing a steel door while leaving the windows open.

Achieving true passwordless authentication isn't a single step it's a strategic journey that requires careful planning, gradual implementation and continuous optimization:

The first phase focuses on introducing passkeys as an additional authentication method while maintaining existing options as fallbacks. This foundation-building stage allows users time to understand and trust the new technology while keeping familiar methods available to reduce friction.

Key Implementation Steps:

• Integrate passkey authentication into your existing authentication flow
• Enable passkey creation for new and existing users
• Maintain passwords and other authentication methods as alternatives
• Track passkey creation rates and usage patterns

Success Metrics:

• Percentage of users who have created at least one passkey above 50%
• Passkey creation success rate above 95%
• Initial passkey usage for authentication reaching 20-30%

Once passkeys are available, the focus shifts to driving adoption and making passkeys the preferred authentication method. This phase transforms passkeys from an alternative option to the primary authentication choice through strategic user engagement and optimization.

Key Implementation Steps:

• Make passkey authentication the default option in login flows
• Implement intelligent prompts that encourage passkey creation after successful password logins
• Educate users about security and convenience benefits through in-app messaging
• Provide incentives for passkey adoption (faster checkout, exclusive features)
• A/B test different messaging and UI approaches to maximize conversion
• Implement conditional access policies requiring passkeys for sensitive operations

Success Metrics:

• 60%+ of active users with at least one passkey
• 80%+ of logins using passkeys for passkey-enabled accounts
• Less than 2% passkey creation failure rate

This is where the real security transformation happens: removing passwords entirely for users who consistently use passkeys. This phase eliminates the primary attack vector by deactivating passwords for users who have demonstrated successful passkey adoption.

Key Implementation Steps:

• Analyze user authentication patterns using intelligent monitoring systems
• Identify users who exclusively use passkeys with multiple passkey-ready devices
• Offer password deactivation with clear security benefit messaging
• Verify backup passkey availability (cloud-synced or multiple devices)

Success Metrics:

• 30%+ of eligible users voluntarily removing passwords
• Zero increase in account lockout rates
• Maintained or improved user satisfaction scores

The final phase addresses the last vulnerability: transforming account recovery into a phishing-resistant process. This phase ensures that recovery flows match the security level of primary authentication, preventing backdoor attacks.

Key Implementation Steps:

• Implement multi-factor authentication with at least one phishing-resistant factor
• Available Phishing resistant factors:
  • Backup Passkeys: Recovery passkeys stored on secondary devices or cloud services that provide cryptographic proof of identity (most widely available option)
  • Digital Credentials API: W3C standard for cryptographically verified identity assertions from trusted providers (emerging technology, not yet widespread)
  • Hardware Security Keys: Physical FIDO2 tokens registered as recovery factors that cannot be phished or duplicated (requires users to purchase and maintain physical devices)
  • Identity Document Verification with Liveness Detection: Government ID scanning combined with real-time biometric actions to prove physical presence

Note on recovery options: While Digital Credentials API and Hardware Security Keys offer strong security, they're not yet widely adopted, the former is still emerging technology and the latter requires users to purchase physical devices.

When backup passkeys aren't available, identity document verification with liveness detection becomes a viable alternative. Despite potential workarounds to bypass liveness checks without physical ownership of an ID, these methods still provide significantly stronger security than traditional OTPs, which can be easily intercepted through phishing, SIM swapping or man-in-the-middle attacks.

Success Metrics:

• 100% of recovery flows include phishing-resistant factors
• Zero successful account takeovers through recovery processes
• Recovery completion rates maintained above 90%

The passwordless movement is gaining momentum across the technology industry, with leading companies moving away from passwords.

Several companies have already achieved complete password elimination for their internal operations. Okta, Yubico and Cloudflare have effectively reached zero password use internally and their login flows will not accept passwords at all.

The tech giants Google, Apple, Microsoft and X are actively deprecating passwords but haven't eliminated them entirely. Their approach balances security improvements with user choice during the transition period.

Google has taken an aggressive stance by toggling "Skip password when possible" ON by default for all accounts, making passkeys the preferred authentication method while still allowing users to opt out if needed. This opt-out approach creates strong momentum toward passwordless while maintaining flexibility for users not yet ready to transition.

Microsoft goes a step further by allowing users to completely remove their passwords from their accounts today, with plans to "eventually remove password support altogether" in the future. This clear roadmap signals to users that passwords are on borrowed time, encouraging early adoption of passwordless methods.

Apple has integrated passkeys throughout its ecosystem and actively promotes their use, though Apple ID passwords remain available as a fallback option. Their approach leverages the seamless synchronization across Apple devices to make passkey adoption as frictionless as possible.

These companies aren't forcing immediate change but are sending a clear message: passwords will disappear once adoption reaches critical mass. Their strategies involve making passkeys the default, educating users about benefits and gradually reducing password functionality.

The decision to remove passwords shouldn't be rushed or applied universally. Instead, adopt a data-driven, gradual approach that considers user behavior, device capabilities and risk profiles.

High-risk sectors experiencing severe phishing attacks today should begin their passwordless transition immediately, but still follow a gradual, strategic rollout:

• Banks & Financial Institutions: Prime targets for credential theft. For European banks, passkeys also align with PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements, providing phishing-resistant MFA that meets regulatory compliance while enhancing user experience
• Payment Providers & Fintech: Direct access to customer funds makes them attractive for organized cybercrime
• Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Irreversible transactions mean stolen credentials lead to permanent losses
• Healthcare & Insurance: Face both compliance requirements and patient safety risks from medical identity theft
• Government & Critical Infrastructure: Targeted by nation-state actors with sophisticated spear-phishing campaigns

For these organizations, immediate action is critical, but success still requires a methodical, gradual rollout approach. Start today, but roll out strategically to ensure high adoption and avoid user lockouts.

Start with a smaller Subgroup: Begin your passwordless transition with users who demonstrate consistent passkey usage. These early adopters will help you identify potential issues before broader deployment.

Analyze user behavior patterns:

• Login frequency and methods used
• Device types and passkey compatibility
• Failed authentication attempts
• Recovery flow usage
• Cross-device authentication patterns

Users eligible for password deactivation based on these patterns:

• Consistently authenticate via passkeys - showing they're comfortable with the technology
• Use passkeys across multiple devices - indicating they have backup access methods
• Haven't used passwords or recovery flows in the past 30-60 days - demonstrating they don't rely on password-based authentication

Corbado provides a comprehensive platform to guide organizations through all four phases of the passwordless journey described above. From initial passkey implementation to achieving complete password elimination, Corbado's solution handles the technical complexity while providing the tools needed for successful user adoption.

Phase 1 & 2 Support: Corbado offers seamless passkey integration with existing authentication stacks, intelligent prompts that maximize adoption rates and detailed analytics to track passkey creation and usage patterns. The platform's Passkey Intelligence feature automatically optimizes the user experience based on device capabilities and user behavior, ensuring smooth onboarding.

Phase 3 & 4 Implementation: For organizations ready to remove passwords entirely, Corbado enables gradual password deactivation based on user readiness while maintaining secure, phishing-resistant recovery flows.

By handling cross-platform compatibility, fallback mechanisms and user experience optimization, Corbado accelerates the passwordless transformation from years to months, allowing organizations to focus on their core business while achieving phishingresistant authentication.

The journey to true passwordless authentication answers the two critical questions we raised at the beginning:

Why aren't passkeys alone enough for complete security? Because security is only as strong as its weakest link. As long as passwords remain available, even as a fallback, attackers will simply pivot to target them through phishing, credential stuffing or downgrade attacks. Every password in your system undermines the phishing-resistant benefits of passkeys.

What makes account recovery the hidden vulnerability? Recovery flows are often the forgotten backdoor. As the MGM Resorts and Okta breaches demonstrated, attackers increasingly bypass robust passkey implementations by exploiting weaker recovery methods like SMS OTPs or email magic links. It's like installing a steel door while leaving the windows open.

True passwordless security requires completing the full journey: implementing passkeys, driving adoption, removing passwords entirely and securing recovery flows with phishing-resistant methods. Only by closing all password doors including those hidden in recovery processes, can organizations achieve truly secure authentication.