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08/06/2026 4:04 pm
TL;DR: Passwordless authentication removes password reuse and phishing exposure, but Axiad notes that partial deployments, insecure device dependencies, and incomplete integration can recreate risk across the login path. The real governance issue is not whether passwords disappear, but whether authentication, onboarding, and adjacent systems are redesigned together.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Axiad: How to Implement Passwordless Authentication
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should security teams implement passwordless authentication without leaving legacy gaps?
A: Start by inventorying every login, recovery, and onboarding path that still depends on passwords.
Q: Why do passwordless deployments still create risk in human IAM programmes?
A: Because the attack surface shifts rather than disappears.
Q: What breaks when passwordless is rolled out to only part of an application estate?
A: Users and support teams end up operating under two authentication models at once.
Practitioner guidance
- Inventory every fallback path Map primary login, recovery, onboarding, and legacy application paths before turning on passwordless.
- Harden device and mailbox trust Require strong protection for phones, business email, and any app used for OTPs, push prompts, or magic links.
- Migrate by application coverage Track which applications, onboarding flows, and help desk processes are fully passwordless and which still depend on passwords.
What's in the full article
Axiad's full blog post covers the implementation detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- Platform-specific examples of passwordless methods such as push prompts, magic links, biometrics, and one-time codes.
- Operational rollout considerations for updating onboarding and authentication infrastructure across the estate.
- Transition challenges when integrated applications still depend on passwords or legacy verification steps.
- Axiad's recommended approach for reducing disruption during a passwordless migration.
👉 Read Axiad's guide to implementing passwordless authentication →
Passwordless authentication rollout gaps: what IAM teams miss?
Explore further
08/06/2026 5:28 pm
Passwordless authentication is only as strong as the weakest adjacent identity system. The article is right to emphasise that devices, email, and onboarding all sit inside the trust boundary once passwords are removed. That means the governance problem shifts from password policy to identity path integrity across the full human access journey. Practitioners should treat the surrounding control plane as part of authentication, not as separate plumbing.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 72% of organisations have experienced or suspect they have experienced a breach of non-human identities, with 46% confirmed and 26% suspected, according to The 2024 ESG Report: Managing Non-Human Identities.
- Two-thirds of enterprises have endured a successful cyberattack resulting from compromised non-human identities, with a quarter encountering multiple attacks.
A question worth separating out:
Q: What should organisations check before removing passwords from user access flows?
A: Check whether onboarding, device trust, email security, and account recovery are ready to carry the authentication burden. If any of those functions remain weak, passwordless can shift the problem instead of solving it. A mature deployment treats those controls as part of authentication governance, not side issues.
👉 Read our full editorial: Passwordless authentication still fails when the rollout is partial
