Cybercrime is set to cost the global economy $2.9-million every minute in 2020 and some 80% of these attacks are password-related. Knowledge-based authentication – whether with PINs, passwords, passphrases, or whatever we need to remember – is not only a major headache for users, it is costly to maintain. For larger businesses, it is estimated that nearly 50% of IT help desk costs are allocated to password resets, with average annual spend for companies now at over $1-million for staffing alone.

Passwordless authentication does not mean removing all security barriers to our digitalized society. It means harnessing technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to save users time and save company-money.

This paper sheds light on the importance of authentication in digital transformation efforts, introduces a framework for future authentication systems and presents five key passwordless technologies available for use.

Report by the World Economic Forum