Passkey Adoption Is Accelerating in APAC — Except for Australia
Tech Republic – Ben Abbott
This summary discusses the adoption of passkeys, a phishing-resistant authentication method, with a focus on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region:
1) Passkeys:
– Backed by Microsoft, Apple, and Google
– Use encrypted credentials stored on devices
– Replace passwords and weaker multi-factor authentication (MFA)
2) Adoption in Australia:
– Relatively slow compared to other APAC countries
– MyGov recently introduced passkey logins
– Banking sector still primarily uses One Time Passcode (OTP) MFA
3) Barriers to adoption:
– Low cybersecurity maturity in the public sector
– Concerns about customer experience in banking
– Perceptions of technical complexity in implementation
4) Yubico and YubiKey:
– Offers hardware-bound passkeys
– Gained traction with major tech companies globally
– Seeing accelerating adoption in APAC, including Australia
5) Global passkey adoption:
– Major brands like Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon, Apple implementing passkeys
– FIDO Alliance reports 13 billion accounts using passkeys as of July 2024
6) Australian government adoption:
– MyGov among first digital government services to offer passkeys
– Aligns with Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2023-2030
– 20,000 users set up passkeys within a week
7) Cybersecurity maturity in Australian government:
– Essential Eight framework now requires phishing-resistant passwords at Maturity Level 2
– Only 25% of agencies meet Maturity Level 2 requirements
– Federal agencies lead in adoption, local governments lag behind
8) Challenges:
– Varying cybersecurity maturity across government tiers
– Smaller, more autonomous local governments still reliant on weaker authentication methods
The article highlights the potential of passkeys to enhance security but notes the slow adoption in Australia, particularly in the public sector and banking industry, despite growing use in other APAC countries.
Link: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/passkey-adoption-lags-australia/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=e312_WeekendWrapup%202024-09-07&utm_term=daily-tech-insider-active