Passkeys from 1Password ready to join star supporters on red carpet

The world of biometric authentication is not standard stomping ground for celebrities, unless you count deepfakes. But some big names are getting in on the passkey boom, as titans of both tech and screen stake bets on the anointed successor to passwords.

Microsoft has announced native support for passkey managers in Windows 11. A blog post says the new capability “empowers users to choose their favorite passkey manager – whether it’s Microsoft Password Manager or trusted third-party providers.”

“Together, we’ve ensured that 1Password and other third-party passkey providers can deliver a secure, standards-based experience natively on Windows, marking another major step towards a passwordless future.”

Toronto-based 1Password is the first third-party manager Windows is partnering with. CNBC has coverage of the company – in part because its backers include Hollywood A-listers Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson and Matthew McConaughey (not to mention Justin Timberlake) and in part because it has topped more than $400 million in annual recurring revenue.

New CEO looks to shepherd 1Password toward IPO

1Password CEO David Faugno, who took sole responsibility for the role when longtime co-CEO Jeff Shiner moved to executive chair in July, says the company is “at a pretty significant inflection point in our journey. We’re set up for this next wave of disruption, which I think is an even bigger opportunity for us.”

Faugno expects the company to surpass a billion dollars in ARR over the next “several years,” as the industry adapts to the continued evolution of AI and the resulting need for more complex fraud protection. The firm’s client list already includes IBM, Perplexity AI, Salesforce, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and Formula 1 team Oracle Red Bull Racing.

In keeping with the disruption, 1Password has added some new faces, bringing on ChargePoint and Barracuda Networks executive Michael Hughes as president, and former Qualtrics and SAP executive John Torrey as chief business officer.

1Password is presently valued at $6.8 billion, and Faugno says while the company is weighing a possible IPO in 2026 or 2027, it’s “not rushing out to go public.”

“We control our own destiny,” he says. “From a profitability perspective, we have investors that are playing the long game with us.”

Japanese securities firms join Microsoft in adopting passkeys

For many, the long game increasingly involves passkeys. In a conversation with the Biometric Update Podcast, FIDO Alliance CEO Andrew Shikiar says passkeys are now well established, and that many of the world’s biggest companies have bought in.

Microsoft, for one, makes the case for plugin passkey managers as a flexible, easy, interoperable authentication option. “Your passkeys are synced between your Windows PCs and mobile devices,” it says; “they go where you go.”

Passkeys’ convenience and security has also made them a preferred choice for major Japanese securities companies. The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun conducted a survey of 10 major securities firms, and found that six have already introduced such a system, with the remaining four planning to introduce one by spring.

Of the 10 securities firms, Nomura Securities Co., Daiwa Securities Co., SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., Mizuho Securities Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. provide their services primarily through face-to-face interactions. The remaining five operate online – SBI Securities Co., Rakuten Securities Inc., Monex Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ eSmart Securities Co. and Matsui Securities Co.

Nomura Securities is making passkey authentication mandatory for stock trading, whereas Rakuten Securities has enabled passkey use for logging into its websites and apps, but not made passkeys mandatory.

Adoption is partly a response to rampant securities fraud and phishing scams, and partly to revised regulations. Per Japan News, in mid-October, the Financial services Agency and the Japan Securities Dealers Association both updated their guidelines, recommending that securities companies and other firms make secure authentication tools like passkeys mandatory for multifactor authentication.

Hypr, Idemia smart ID badge offers FIDO authentication

Hypr and Idemia Public Security have been pursuing an integration through 2025, for a passkey solution that unifies the management of credentials for both physical and digital access control on a single smart badge called the ID-One PIV Card.

The FIDO-certified smart badges offer organizations enhanced protection from phishing attacks and man-in-the-middle credential stuffing, according to Hypr’s blog. “These smart-card-based MFA solutions seamlessly integrate physical facility access with digital access across multiple workstations, ensuring compatibility with all major identity security technologies.”

The system effectively enables organizations and users to choose between hardware and software-based authentication methods, both FIDO Certified. In a video posted on LinkedIn, Hypr CEO Bojan Simic and Idemia Public Security’s VP of Smart Credentials Teresa Wu offer a close look at the hybrid smart badges – and discuss “why it’s time to rethink what your ID badge can really do.”

Earlier this month, Yubico added support for digital identity verification from Hypr and Nametag to its YubiKey as a Service platform, to help accelerate the adoption of passkeys.

Article Topics

1Password  |  biometric authentication  |  HYPR  |  Idemia Public Security  |  Microsoft  |  passkeys  |  passwordless authentication