Google Adds Passkey Support to Chrome for Windows, macOS and Android

Dec 12, 2022

Dec 12, 2022Ravie LakshmananPassword Management

Google has officially begun rolling out support for passkeys ^[1], the next-generation
passwordless login standard, to its stable version of Chrome web
browser.

“Passkeys are a significantly safer replacement for passwords
and other phishable authentication factors,” the tech giant’s Ali
Sarraf said ^[2]. “They cannot be reused,
don’t leak in server breaches, and protect users from phishing
attacks.”

The improved security feature, which is available in version
108, comes nearly two months after Google began testing the option ^[3] across Android, macOS,
and Windows 11.

Passkeys ^[4] obviate the need for
passwords by requiring users to authenticate themselves during sign
in by unlocking their nearby Android or iOS device using
biometrics. This, however, calls for websites to build passkey
support on their sites using the WebAuthn API ^[5].

Essentially, the technology works by creating a unique
cryptographic key pair to associate with an account for the app or
website during account registration. One of these keys, the public
key, is stored in the server. The private key, on the other hand,
never leaves the device in which the keys were generated.

On Android, the “keys” are uploaded to Google Password Manager
(or a third party like 1Password ^[6]
or Dashlane ^[7]) to prevent lockouts.
Passkeys are synced ^[8]
via iCloud Keychain on iOS and macOS, while Microsoft Windows is
set to offer support in 2023.

“When a passkey is backed up, its private key is uploaded only
in its encrypted form using an encryption key that is only
accessible on the user’s own devices,” Google software engineer
Arnar Birgisson previously noted in October 2022.

The idea is to protect the passkeys from Google such that a
rogue actor inside the company cannot use them to log in to its
corresponding online service without access to the private key.

The internet and advertising company is also expected ^[9]
to make available a new API to provide passkeys support for Android
apps.

Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter ^[10] and LinkedIn ^[11] to read more exclusive
content we post.

References

^{^}
passkeys
(fidoalliance.org)
^{^}
said
(blog.chromium.org)
^{^}
began
testing the option (thehackernews.com)
^{^}
Passkeys
(www.passkeys.io)
^{^}
WebAuthn API
(webauthn.guide)
^{^}
1Password
(www.future.1password.com)
^{^}
Dashlane
(support.dashlane.com)
^{^}
synced
(support.apple.com)
^{^}
expected
(developers.google.com)
^{^}
Twitter 
(twitter.com)
^{^}
LinkedIn
(www.linkedin.com)

The Hacker News Headlines

New Apple iOS 16 Exploit Enables Stealthy Cellular Access Under Fake Airplane Mode

Aug 18, 2023

The Hacker News Headlines

China-Linked Bronze Starlight Group Targeting Gambling Sector with Cobalt Strike Beacons

Aug 18, 2023

The Hacker News Headlines

NoFilter Attack: Sneaky Privilege Escalation Method Bypasses Windows Security

Aug 18, 2023

OWASP TOP !0

Injection. Injection flaws, such as SQL, NoSQL, OS, and LDAP injection, occur when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. The attacker’s hostile data can trick the interpreter into executing unintended commands or accessing data without proper authorization. Broken Authentication. Application functions related to authentication and session management are often implemented incorrectly, allowing attackers to compromise passwords, keys, or session tokens, or to exploit other implementation flaws to assume other users’ identities temporarily or permanently. Sensitive Data Exposure. Many web applications and APIs do not properly protect sensitive data, such as financial, healthcare, and PII. Attackers may steal or modify such weakly protected data to conduct credit card fraud, identity theft, or other crimes. Sensitive data may be compromised without extra protection, such as encryption at rest or in transit, and requires special precautions when exchanged with the browser. XML External Entities (XXE). Many older or poorly configured XML processors evaluate external entity references within XML documents. External entities can be used to disclose internal files using the file URI handler, internal file shares, internal port scanning, remote code execution, and denial of service attacks. Broken Access Control. Restrictions on what authenticated users are allowed to do are often not properly enforced. Attackers can exploit these flaws to access unauthorized functionality and/or data, such as access other users’ accounts, view sensitive files, modify other users’ data, change access rights, etc. Security Misconfiguration. Security misconfiguration is the most commonly seen issue. This is commonly a result of insecure default configurations, incomplete or ad hoc configurations, open cloud storage, misconfigured HTTP headers, and verbose error messages containing sensitive information. Not only must all operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and applications be securely configured, but they must be patched/upgraded in a timely fashion. Cross-Site Scripting XSS. XSS flaws occur whenever an application includes untrusted data in a new web page without proper validation or escaping, or updates an existing web page with user-supplied data using a browser API that can create HTML or JavaScript. XSS allows attackers to execute scripts in the victim’s browser which can hijack user sessions, deface web sites, or redirect the user to malicious sites. Insecure Deserialization. Insecure deserialization often leads to remote code execution. Even if deserialization flaws do not result in remote code execution, they can be used to perform attacks, including replay attacks, injection attacks, and privilege escalation attacks. Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities. Components, such as libraries, frameworks, and other software modules, run with the same privileges as the application. If a vulnerable component is exploited, such an attack can facilitate serious data loss or server takeover. Applications and APIs using components with known vulnerabilities may undermine application defenses and enable various attacks and impacts. Insufficient Logging & Monitoring. Insufficient logging and monitoring, coupled with missing or ineffective integration with incident response, allows attackers to further attack systems, maintain persistence, pivot to more systems, and tamper, extract, or destroy data. Most breach studies show time to detect a breach is over 200 days, typically detected by external parties rather than internal processes or monitoring.

Google Adds Passkey Support to Chrome for Windows, macOS and Android

References

Related Post

New Apple iOS 16 Exploit Enables Stealthy Cellular Access Under Fake Airplane Mode

China-Linked Bronze Starlight Group Targeting Gambling Sector with Cobalt Strike Beacons

NoFilter Attack: Sneaky Privilege Escalation Method Bypasses Windows Security

You missed

Protected: Rotary VI EAST

Protected: BetterCyberCareer Group

Protected: Benin Club 1931 – Official

Protected: Whatsapp AI Automation Group