Irish Examiner view: Has cybersecurity left us lost for words?

Recycling passwords can provide access to personal data which then facilitates identity theft and fraud.

The era of garnering a multiplicity of passwords to use computers, or running the risk of being hacked by using a common key, such as password123, may be numbered with an unprecedented agreement among the tech giants to standardise fingerprints and face recognition via a smartphone to sign in to websites and apps.

Apple, Google, and Microsoft say the new form of authentication will make the web more “secure and usable” and less cumbersome. 

Recycling the same password is one of the biggest security risks in the digital world and can provide access to personal data which then facilitates identity theft and fraud.

Work will continue over the next 12 months on forms of passwordless login and testing the technical framework which will allow access from different equipment providers.

All of which is encouraging. Perhaps next the tech giants can agree on a standard charging port, so we don’t have to collect a multiplicity of leads with every new development.