Passwordless authentication company Descope Inc. today announced new features that allow developers to incorporate passkeys into their existing applications.

Passkeys are an alternative method of authentication that deviates from the traditional username and password model. Passkeys leverage unique and hard-to-imitate characteristics such as fingerprints, facial scans, or personal identification numbers.

Descope argues that passwords are bad for security and usability since they are easy for attackers to brute force but hard for users to remember. More than 80% of web application attacks in 2021 were the result of stolen credentials and since users tend to reuse passwords across sites, credential stuffing attacks continue to be successful. The cognitive load placed on users with password-based authentication is also claimed to harm the user experience, leading to customer churn and higher acquisition and retention costs.

The new updates from Descope allow customers using identity providers such as Amazon Cognito and Auth0 Inc. to add passkeys and other passwordless methods to their authentication flows. This is done by adding Descope as an OpenID Connect agent, which takes only a few minutes to set up.

The updates also help customers, improving the user experience by providing an easier onboarding path and merging accounts across authentication methods. The company claims this increases retention by simplifying return logins and avoiding churn due to forgotten passwords.

Descope also allows developers to add passwordless authentication capabilities to their apps with a few lines of code. The company says its drag-and-drop workflows, software development kits and application processing interfaces take away the complexity of authentication so that apps can get to market faster and safer than before.

Slavik Markovich, co-founder and chief executive officer of Descope, spoke to the advantages of Passkeys, saying that “they are virtually unphishable and make the process much easier for end users.”

“With continued support for passkeys from Google, Apple and Microsoft, user familiarity and adoption will increase in the months to come,” Markovich added. “Our goal with these product enhancements is to reduce friction for any developers looking to add passkeys to their apps.”

Descope was last in the news in February when it raised $53 million in funding to help developers build passwordless authentication into apps. Investors in the company include Lightspeed Venture Partners LLC, GGV Capital LLC, TechAviv Founder Partners LP, Circa Capital Corp. and J Ventures.

Photo: Descope