Your Passwords Are the Weakest Link — Here’s the Fix
Every IT team knows the pattern. Password resets pile up, users recycle credentials across accounts, and at the end of the year, the breach reports land with the same finding: stolen credentials are still the number one cause. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, compromised credentials feature in more than 80% of data breaches — a figure that hasn’t budged in years.
Passkey migration is the practical path out of that cycle. It replaces shared passwords with cryptographic credentials that live on your device, can’t be phished, and don’t require anyone to memorise a thing.
Why MFA Alone Isn’t Enough Anymore
Multi-factor authentication was a meaningful step forward and still forms part of the Essential Eight baseline recommended by the ACSC. But SMS-based codes — still the most common MFA method — have a real weakness. Modern phishing kits can intercept a one-time code in real time, capturing both the password and the code before the session expires.
Phishing-resistant authentication closes that gap by design. A passkey is cryptographically bound to a specific domain, so a fraudulent login page simply cannot trigger authentication on your device. The attack vector doesn’t just become harder — it becomes technically impossible.
What a Passkey Actually Is
When you register with a service using a passkey, your device creates a matched pair of cryptographic keys. The private key stays on your device and never leaves it. The public key goes to the service.
When you log in, your device uses biometrics — Windows Hello, Face ID, or a fingerprint — to sign a challenge from the server. The server verifies it with the public key. No password is transmitted. No shared secret is stored on a server waiting to be exposed.
Passkeys are built on the open FIDO2 and WebAuthn standards, backed by Apple, Google, and Microsoft. More than 15 billion online accounts now support passkey sign-in, double the figure from the previous year.
What Passkey Migration Looks Like in Practice
Migration isn’t a single cutover. It’s a staged transition where passwords and passkeys run in parallel until passkeys are established across your critical platforms.
For teams on M365, the groundwork is already done. Microsoft enabled passkeys through Entra ID and made them the default sign-in method for new accounts in May 2025. If you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem, you can start without any new infrastructure.
Where to Begin
Start with administrators and high-privilege users. They carry the most risk, reset passwords most often, and will give you honest feedback before broader rollout.
Map your tools first. Platforms like M365, GitHub, and most major identity providers already support passkeys fully. Start there. Leave unsupported tools for a later phase.
Run both methods in parallel. The most common mistake is treating migration as a hard cutover. Users can authenticate with passkeys on enrolled devices and fall back temporarily on others. This keeps adoption moving without locking anyone out.
Bridge the gaps with a password manager. For platforms that don’t yet support passkeys, a password manager generating unique credentials eliminates reuse risk now. When those platforms add passkey support, migration becomes a single enrolment step.
The Business Case Is Straightforward
Google’s data shows passkey sign-ins are four times more successful than password-based logins and roughly 20% faster. Fewer failed logins means fewer helpdesk calls, fewer lockouts, and less friction for your team day to day.
From a compliance standpoint, NIST’s 2025 update to SP 800-63-4 now requires phishing-resistant authentication as a mandatory option for high-assurance access. For organisations subject to the Privacy Act or managing Notifiable Data Breaches obligations, reducing credential exposure through passkey migration is a tangible, defensible control.
Ready to Map Your Migration?
If your team is running M365, you’re closer to passwordless than you might think. The IT TechNinjas can walk you through which platforms in your environment are ready today and build a migration plan that fits your team — without the disruption.