How can passkeys prevent account takeovers?

How Can Passkeys Prevent Account Takeovers (ATOs)?#

Account takeovers are a significant security threat for enterprises and users alike. Passkeys address this issue by leveraging phishing-resistant technology and security standards like WebAuthn. Here's how they work:

1. Phishing Resistance#

• Passkeys are bound to the specific domain of the service they authenticate, making them unusable on fake websites.
• Unlike passwords or SMS OTPs, passkeys do not rely on shared secrets that attackers can intercept or steal.

2. Public-Key Cryptography#

• Passkeys use public-private key pairs, where:
  • The private key is stored securely on the user’s device and never shared.
  • The public key is stored on the server and used to verify the user’s authentication.
• Even if attackers compromise the server, they cannot access the private key required for authentication.

3. Resistance to Credential Stuffing#

Since passkeys are not stored as traditional credentials, they are immune to credential stuffing attacks that exploit reused passwords from data breaches.

4. Secure Biometric Authentication#

Passkeys rely on device-based biometrics (e.g., fingerprint or face recognition), ensuring only the legitimate user can authenticate.

Why Passkeys Are Effective#

By eliminating the vulnerabilities of passwords and SMS OTPs, passkeys make it nearly impossible for attackers to carry out account takeovers. They ensure that authentication happens only in secure, trusted environments.

Read the full article#

About Corbado

Corbado is the Authentication Intelligence Platform for CIAM teams running consumer authentication at scale. We help you see what IDP logs and generic analytics tools can't: where passkeys, passwords, OTP, social login and fallback journeys succeed, stall or fail, which devices and browsers create friction, and when an OS update silently breaks login. Two products: Corbado Observe layers process mining and observability across authentication journeys. Corbado Connect adds managed passkeys with analytics built in alongside your IDP. VicRoads runs passkeys for 5M+ users with Corbado (+80% passkey activation). Talk to a Passkey Expert →