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Apple Passkey

developer.apple.com

111–120 of 421 posts

Re: Apple Passkey

#111
I think we need a browser level or OS level notification about which passwordless service we used last time.

Did we use Gmail, Twitter, Signin with Apple, Github, Linkedin, or do I actually have something stored in my password manager associated with an email and if so, did I store it in the browser's password manager, the OS's password manager, or my third party password manager?

Re: Apple Passkey

#112
post #46

This is based on the open standards WebAuthn and FIDO2, where the credentials (“passkeys”) are synced via iCloud Keychain. Currently you need remember to register at least 2 security keys, in case one is lost/misplaced. The syncing of passkeys in iCloud solves this backup problem. https://fidoalliance.org/apple-google-and-microsoft-commit-t...

How will this work on Linux?

FIDO usb devices just use the HID protocol so they work fine on linux. Chrome and Firefox both support them.

I wrote a FIDO implementation that protects the signing key using the system's TPM specifically for linux: https://github.com/psanford/tpm-fido

There is no reason why you couldn't implement a similar syncing strategy in a tool like this if you wanted to.

Re: Apple Passkey

#113
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just add more authenticators to every RP (site you auth into). From the point of view of an RP, "your account in the Apple ecosystem" here is the exact same thing as "one of your Yubikeys", basically.

That seems like an enormous pain if you have dozens or hundreds of services. It could take hours to do this one at a time. (I'm assuming one minute per service, though that depends on how hard it is to find the "add another authenticator" page for each service.) It's possible I'm unaware that there is a simple protocol for this. Am I incorrect here?

Yeah this is absolutely not feasible, I have ~200 separate accounts in my password manager right now just for me personally.

Re: Apple Passkey

#114
How does this bode for anonymity and multiple identities?

I'm imagining a world where all PCs/Macs/Smartphones have FIDO/WebAuthn and there's no other way to log in. Can I setup up multiple IDs on my iPhone and decide which services get to be associated with which id? I get that supposedly iPhone (etc) will (may?) give out a different number to each service but they'll still be associated with a single account at Apple's level. Further, it's likely these services will ask for more info and Apple will give it to them.

As it is I have a different id for almost every service. I'd like to keep it that way.

Re: Apple Passkey

#115

I think we need a browser level or OS level notification about which passwordless service we used last time. Did we use Gmail, Twitter, Signin with Apple, Github, Linkedin, or do I actually have something stored in my password manager associated with an email and if so, did I store it in the browser's password manager, the OS's password manager, or my third party password manager?

Such a great point. I forget all the time. Next auth service I write will remember this for you and prompt you based on the service you used last time. Take my upvote!

Re: Apple Passkey

#116
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking at how various places do 2FA, it's likely that at least some websites will not support multiple keys even if they ought to. Also, I imagine that many people do not have the luxury of multiple devices. So if you lose your phone, you'll need to buy or at least borrow another iOS device to recover it from iCloud before you could switch to Android.

How common would it be for someone who has just lost their phone to want to immediately switch platforms? Isn't it much more likely that they'd want a new device on the same platform as the one they just lost?

Supply chain issues, sanctions, travel or prices you can‘t afford at the moment your phone breaks down may make you switch the platform involuntarily.

Re: Apple Passkey

#117
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just add more authenticators to every RP (site you auth into). From the point of view of an RP, "your account in the Apple ecosystem" here is the exact same thing as "one of your Yubikeys", basically.

That seems like an enormous pain if you have dozens or hundreds of services. It could take hours to do this one at a time. (I'm assuming one minute per service, though that depends on how hard it is to find the "add another authenticator" page for each service.) It's possible I'm unaware that there is a simple protocol for this. Am I incorrect here?

You are 100% correct that you need to add it to each service. This is a consequence of an intentional decision (keys cannot be duplicated). Streamlining it would definitely be an improvement.

That being said, it's not a problem in the real-world because FIDO is so sparsely supported. Hopefully PassKey speeds things along.

Re: Apple Passkey

#118
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like an enormous pain if you have dozens or hundreds of services. It could take hours to do this one at a time. (I'm assuming one minute per service, though that depends on how hard it is to find the "add another authenticator" page for each service.) It's possible I'm unaware that there is a simple protocol for this. Am I incorrect here?

You are 100% correct that you need to add it to each service. This is a consequence of an intentional decision (keys cannot be duplicated). Streamlining it would definitely be an improvement. That being said, it's not a problem in the real-world because FIDO is so sparsely supported. Hopefully PassKey speeds things along.

Could it be automated by a third-party service?

How much would you be willing to pay for such a service? ;)

Re: Apple Passkey

#119
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like an enormous pain if you have dozens or hundreds of services. It could take hours to do this one at a time. (I'm assuming one minute per service, though that depends on how hard it is to find the "add another authenticator" page for each service.) It's possible I'm unaware that there is a simple protocol for this. Am I incorrect here?

You are 100% correct that you need to add it to each service. This is a consequence of an intentional decision (keys cannot be duplicated). Streamlining it would definitely be an improvement. That being said, it's not a problem in the real-world because FIDO is so sparsely supported. Hopefully PassKey speeds things along.

Streamlining would be an improvement, but it opens an attack vector.

Unfortunately, security and usability are always in balance.

Re: Apple Passkey

#120
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just add more authenticators to every RP (site you auth into). From the point of view of an RP, "your account in the Apple ecosystem" here is the exact same thing as "one of your Yubikeys", basically.

That seems like an enormous pain if you have dozens or hundreds of services. It could take hours to do this one at a time. (I'm assuming one minute per service, though that depends on how hard it is to find the "add another authenticator" page for each service.) It's possible I'm unaware that there is a simple protocol for this. Am I incorrect here?

For less important accounts, you could use OAuth with another site. (For example, maybe use GitHub to authenticate for other developer sites.)
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