Passkeys for enterprise report from FIDO says adoption is growing

A new report from the FIDO Alliance aims to understand the state of passkey deployments by enterprises in the U.S. and UK, including methods for deploying FIDO passkeys, total employees enrolled and perceived barriers to deployment.

Based on a survey of 400 IT professionals (200 from each country), the report says passkey adoption for employee sign-ins is a high or critical priority for two thirds of respondents, and that the majority of enterprises have “either deployed or are in the midst of deploying passkeys with goals tied to improved user experience, enhanced security and standards/regulatory compliance.”

Synced passkeys and device-bound passkeys are in use in more or less equal numbers, and deployments mix both types. Enterprises are prioritizing passkeys for users with access to sensitive data and applications. A whopping 90 percent say education is important to spur passkey adoption. For that purpose, most are using a combination of materials provided by the FIDO Alliance and those created internally.

Quest for better user experience drives passkey uptake

Somewhat surprisingly, the main motivator for deployment is not security, but better user experience – underlining that it may not be passwords’ phishability that finally kills them, but how disliked they are.

Eighty-two percent of respondents who have deployed passkeys say they are having “moderate to strong impacts” on user experience, plus positive impacts on security, cost reduction, productivity and digital transformation, all corresponding with declines in the use of legacy authentication methods. Ninety two percent say passkeys are having moderate to strong impact specifically on increasing security for login/authentication.

While four of the report’s key findings address gains in passkey adoption, the last concerns holdouts. “Organizations cite various reasons for not adopting passkeys, including complexity, costs and lack of clarity,” the report says, interpreting this as a need for increased education on rollout strategies. Some 43 percent say passkeys are too complex, which is another way of saying, “I don’t get it.”

Regardless, the trend shows passkeys finding uptake by enterprises, and a “growing consensus on the effectiveness of passkeys in improving usability, security, productivity and more in workplace environments.”

Macs with built-in biometrics potentially useful upgrade for enterprise

Enterprise authentication is changing rapidly, and biometrics is increasingly a core component of robust and secure systems. A sponsored opinion piece in 9 to 5 Mac argues cites a recent Jumpcloud report as evidence that “IT admins want biometrics to improve their security posture,” but notes that “many companies still buy and deploy devices that don’t support them.”

“With Apple Silicon Macs gaining traction in the enterprise, 2025 is the time for IT leaders to start prioritizing hardware that makes biometrics work great for IT and the end user. Buying devices without biometrics in 2025 is ignoring what’s best for security.” The author also argues that Apple should make biometrics always available, “even if you restart the Mac.”

“We need biometrics 100 percent of the time to move to a passwordless world.”

PayPal passkey undergirds transition to single-step login

PayPal is ditching two factor authentication (2FA) codes for what Forbes says is a “secure single-step login process” enabled by PayPal passkey. A notice issued to users says “previously your passkey was used as one of the two authentication methods with PayPal. Soon, it will verify your login in a single step, making it even easier and faster to pay.”

Per the Forbes coverage, “the good news is that the passkey you already use will remain valid, and there’s no additional action to be taken to activate it for 2FA use.”

Australia continues enthusiastic passkey uptake

Passkeys are global, and in Australia, where digital ID and mobile driver’s licenses are also on the legislative agenda, FIDO technology has found a warm reception. A release from passkey firm and FIDO Alliance member Corbado says almost 5 million Victorians can now log into their myVicRoads accounts using FIDO passkeys.

Andrew Shikiar, Chief Executive Officer of the FIDO Alliance, says “VicRoads’ adoption of passkeys showcases how government agencies can leverage this industry-wide innovation to protect citizen data while simplifying access to critical services.”

Meanwhile, leadership from Singapore’s V-Key “actively participated” in recent FIDO Alliance events in Melbourne, reinforcing our commitment to advancing digital identity and authentication. A company announcement says the seminar, “Navigating Passkeys: A Deep Dive into FIDO Authentication in Australia,” focused on the growing role of passkeys in authentication.

Discussions covered the adoption of passkeys, regulatory updates, real-world implementations, how trust is maintained when users switch devices, and how facial authentication can complement passkeys.

FIDO Alliance to host first passkey webinar in Japan

An upcoming FIDO Alliance webinar will explore the latest passkey use cases for consumer and workforce – in Japanese. The Alliance’s first webinar in Japan will feature presentations from Nikkei Inc. on the introduction of passkey authentication function for Nikkei ID, and from KCON on the in-house use of passkeys in the manufacturing industry.

Register here for the webinar, which takes place on March 26 at 12 p.m. JST.

Article Topics

Apple  |  Australia  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  enterprise  |  FIDO Alliance  |  FIDO2  |  Japan  |  passkeys  |  passwordless authentication  |  Paypal