Gartner Report Calls for Passwordless authentication now

In its recently released “Emerging Technologies and Trends Impact Radar: 2022”, analyst firm Gartner looks at the technologies and trends that hold the greatest potential for market impact. At the top of its list? Passwordless authentication.

In the report, Gartner states that the removal of passwords is critical for most organizations, to both reduce security risk and improve employee and customer experience. Naming HYPR as a sample vendor, it ranks passwordless authentication as the highest impact technology that businesses can implement immediately. By contrast, most of the other recommended technologies have suggested adoption times of three to eight years.

Why Gartner Says It’s Time to Eliminate Passwords

Passwords are notoriously vulnerable to phishing, social engineering and credential stuffing attacks — and the stakes are escalating. Regrettably, passwords remain the most common authentication method. Although the report does not cite any specific attacks, Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds are still top-of-mind for security practitioners.

The report emphasizes that companies find strong password policies difficult to enforce and that they are a cost burden. On top of this, centralized password stores are an attacker’s favorite target. Gartner also says it sees growth in client interest in passwordless authentication. These are among the reasons it places passwordless authentication technologies in the “now” range.

Also of interest for business leaders is the report’s focus on these technologies as competitive drivers. This is a welcome boost for security and product teams that face resistance at top levels for passwordless initiatives.

FIDO Fueling the Push

The report specifically calls out the importance of future proofing solutions with open standards such as those set by the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance. It points to FIDO’s growing support among large category leaders such as Microsoft, Apple and Google as further validation of the approach.

Furthermore, Gartner emphasizes that, by definition, passwordless authentication does not utilize centrally stored passwords. It distinguishes this from approaches where the password remains a part of the infrastructure even though it has been removed from the user’s authentication experience.

A Passwordless Future

HYPR makes it easy for organizations of all sizes and verticals to leverage passwordless authentication. It turns an ordinary smartphone into a FIDO security key for a more secure authentication system, a better experience for your users and lower IT and helpdesk costs for your business. That’s why companies such as Mastercard, CVS Health, and First Citrus Bank, trust HYPR for their passwordless strategy.

To find out how HYPR can help streamline your adoption of passwordless MFA, talk to our experts.

Gartner Disclaimer:

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.