Global Positioning System (GPS) Enterprise

Why we need to move past the old password

Ever tried logging into your healthcare portal at 2 AM while sick, only to realize you forgot if your password ends in a "!" or a "1"? It’s a nightmare we’ve all lived through, and honestly, it's getting dangerous for business too.

The old-school password is a relic of the 90s that just won't die. We’re asking humans to do something they're bad at—remembering random strings—while hackers use bots that are great at guessing them.

• Memory overload is real: In retail, if a customer hits a "forgot password" wall, they usually just abandon the cart. It's a huge conversion killer.
• Credential stuffing is exploding: Hackers take leaked passwords from one site and blast them at others. According to the Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 68% of breaches involve a human element, which includes things like stolen credentials, phishing, or just plain old human error.
• Healthcare and Finance risks: In high-stakes industries, a weak password isn't just an annoyance; it's a massive compliance liability.

I've seen dev teams spend weeks building complex reset flows, only to realize they're just making it easier for attackers to phish their users anyway. It's a losing game.

So, how do we actually fix this without making the user experience even worse? Let's look at how we can ditch the "something you know" for a combination of "something you have" and "something you are."

Comparing the top next gen auth solutions

So, we know passwords are a disaster. But what are we actually replacing them with? It’s not just one thing—it’s a mix of hardware tricks and clever software flows that make life easier for users while giving hackers a much harder time.

If you’ve used FaceID to log into a banking app lately, you’ve probably used a passkey without even realizing it. Basically, Passkeys use public-key cryptography. Your device (phone or laptop) creates a pair of keys: a public one that goes to the server, and a private one that never leaves your hardware.

The cool thing here is that passkeys combine two factors into one quick step. It’s "possession" (you have the physical device with the private key) plus "inherence" (you unlock that key with your face, fingerprint, or pin).

• Device-bound security: Since the private key is stuck on your phone, a hacker in another country can't just "steal" it. They’d literally have to steal your physical phone and then somehow bypass your biometrics too.
• Phishing resistance: Unlike a code you type into a fake website, passkeys only work with the real domain they were created for. If a user lands on a "scam-bank.com" site, the browser won't even offer to use the passkey.
• Big tech push: apple, google, and Microsoft are all-in on this because it reduces support costs. No more "I forgot my password" tickets when your face is the password.

I've seen some devs worry about "what if I lose my phone?" but most providers now sync these keys through the cloud (like iCloud Keychain), so you aren't totally locked out if your phone takes a swim in the pool.

Then there’s the "lazy but effective" route—Magic Links and One-Time Passwords (otps). These are great for b2c apps where you want zero friction during sign-up.

• Low barrier to entry: You don't have to think of a password. You just enter your email, click a link, and boom—you’re in. This is huge for retail apps where every second of friction kills a sale.
• The Email Risk: The big catch is you’re basically offloading your security to the user's email provider. If their gmail gets hacked, every app they use with magic links is compromised too.
• SMS Vulnerabilities: If you use sms for otps, you're open to "SIM swapping" where hackers trick a carrier into moving your number to their phone. It's a major reason why people are moving toward passkeys instead.
• Best for "Low Stakes": I usually recommend these for newsletters or simple e-commerce sites. If you're building a crypto wallet or a healthcare record system, maybe don't rely only on an email link.

According to a report by FIDO Alliance, over 62% of consumers would prefer using a biometrics-based login over traditional passwords if given the choice. It’s just faster.

It’s a bit of a balancing act between "super secure" and "super easy." Next, we’re gonna look at how to manage these identities for your customers.

Implementing these in your CIAM strategy

So, you’ve picked out your shiny new auth methods—maybe some passkeys for the high-security stuff and magic links for the casual users. Now comes the part where most devs start sweating: actually plugging this into a CIAM strategy.

If you haven't heard the term, CIAM stands for Customer Identity and Access Management. Unlike the internal tools your employees use to log into email, CIAM is all about managing external users—your actual customers. It’s focused on making the sign-up smooth while keeping their data safe from the public internet.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the "alphabet soup" of protocols like oidc and saml. Honestly, the goal isn't to become a walking encyclopedia of specs, but to keep your user identities sane while you scale.

I've seen teams try to build their own passkey implementation from scratch. It usually ends in tears and a mountain of technical debt. Instead of reinventing the wheel, look for a partner like SSOJet that lets you drop in these features with just a few lines of code.

• Don't break the flow: You want a provider that lets you add social login or biometrics without forcing a total rewrite of your backend.
• Centralized identity: If you're running a retail site and a support portal, your user shouldn't need two different accounts. A good ciam strategy keeps that identity unified across every platform.
• Developer experience (dx): If the documentation is a 400-page pdf, run away. You want clear apis and sdk's that feel natural to use.

According to Okta, about 70% of organizations are now prioritizing a "seamless" login experience to reduce customer churn. It makes sense—if the login is annoying, people just leave.

In a finance app, for example, you might use a "step-up" auth. Let the user browse with a simple session, but when they try to move money, trigger a biometric check. It’s all about balance.

I once worked on a project where we tried to force mfa on every single page load. Users hated it, and our support tickets tripled. The trick is being invisible until you actually need to be secure.

Next, we're gonna wrap things up by looking at how to use adaptive authentication to keep your security flexible for the long haul.

Future-proofing through Adaptive Auth

So, we've looked at all these cool tools—passkeys, magic links, and the rest. But at the end of the day, you're still stuck with that age-old headache: if you make it too secure, users bail; if you make it too easy, the hackers throw a party.

Finding that middle ground isn't just about the tech, it's about knowing your audience. A banking app needs way more friction than a social media site where people just want to look at cat memes.

I've learned the hard way that you can't treat every user the same. This is where adaptive authentication comes in. Instead of hitting everyone with a heavy login every time, you look at the context. Are they on a new device? Is the ip address from a different country?

• Progressive profiling: Don't ask for their life story on day one. Let them sign up with a simple email, then ask for a passkey or biometric setup later when they actually need to do something important, like updating their credit card.
• Step-up auth: In retail, let someone browse and add to cart with a light session. Only trigger the "hard" security (like a biometric check) when they hit the "Pay Now" button.
• Account recovery: This is the big one. If there's no password to reset, you need a solid backup plan. This usually involves "identity proofing"—like having the user scan a government ID, using pre-generated recovery codes (like the ones you get for github), or even social recovery where trusted friends vouch for you.

According to a 2023 report by TrustRadius, about 89% of software buyers say that "ease of use" is the most important factor when they're picking a new tool. If the login feels like a chore, they'll find someone else who makes it easier.

Honestly, the "perfect" setup doesn't exist. You just have to keep tweaking it. Start with something like passkeys to kill off the password problem, then use a good ciam provider to handle the messy stuff in the background. Your users (and your support team) will definitely thank you later.