Authentication Solutions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter

19 June 2025

Authentication Solutions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter

19 June 2025

Authentication, also known as identity authentication, is the act of proving that someone is who they say they are. For example, when you log into your bank account with a password, you're authenticating yourself. Identity and authentication go hand in hand: to prove someone's identity online, you need to authenticate them.

But this often gets confused with identity verification. While they sound similar, there's an important difference:

Identity verification is a one-time process - proving your identity when you create an account.
Identity authentication is ongoing - proving it’s still you each time you access or perform a sensitive action.

You can explore this in more detail in our dedicated blog on the differences between verification and authentication.

But not all authentication solutions work the same way - and some are much more secure than others. In this blog, we’ll explain what authentication is and look into some of the most innovative passwordless authentication solutions out there.

The Two Main Types of Authentication

Authentication methods generally fall into two categories:

Password-Based Authentication

This is what everyone is used to. You type in something you know - like a password, PIN, or answer to a security question.

This is known as a knowledge factor. It’s simple, but also risky. Passwords can be guessed, stolen, or phished. People naturally use the same ones across different accounts, which makes them easy to attack.

Passwordless Authentication

This doesn’t use passwords at all. Instead, to prove that you are you, it uses either a possession factor (like your phone) or an inherence factor (like your face or fingerprint) to authenticate you.

Most secure systems will mandate at least two factors. If you’re interested in finding out more about multi-factor authenticaiton, you can read our dedicated blog here.

Biometrics are the most powerful types of passwordless authentication. It’s much harder to steal a face than a phone. We’ll talk more about those below, but before, let’s touch upon why the possession factor isn’t usually enough.

Why Possession Isn’t Enough

Many systems today rely on possession - meaning you prove who you are simply by having a phone or access to an app. But just having the right device doesn’t mean it’s really you.

There are lots of examples of how this can go wrong:

Family members often know each other’s PINs, especially in shared households. There have even been stories of children spending thousands on games and apps by accident - just because they knew the phone’s passcode.

Phones can also be stolen. If someone has their phone stolen in the street, one of the first things attackers ask for now is the phone’s PIN. With that, they can bypass FaceID and unlock the phone. If they try to access a bank account, the app may ask for FaceID again—but if it fails, it often falls back to the phone PIN. The attacker enters it and gets in. Even sending money might seem secure, because it’s protected by a text message (SMS OTP). But if the attacker has the phone, they’ll receive that message too - and simply type in the code.

All of this means that just proving you have a device or can read a text isn’t enough to prove who you really are.

We’ve created a full comparison of these methods in our ATO whitepaper, but here’s a small snapshot:

Why Modern Identity Authentication Solutions Needs to Do More

For an authentication system to be truly secure, it needs to do more than just send a code or ask for a password. It needs to answer the key question: Is this really the person who owns the account?

Many major companies still rely on traditional password-based logins—even in industries where trust and security are critical. For example:

Amazon continues to use email and password combinations as the default login method, with optional two-factor authentication via SMS or authenticator apps.
PayPal also defaults to passwords, with optional SMS verification or app-based 2FA. But phishing scams targeting these methods are still common
Netflix uses passwords without mandatory 2FA, even though account sharing and credential stuffing are frequent issues.
Instagram still relies on username and password logins, with 2FA offered through SMS or authentication apps—both of which are vulnerable to SIM swap and phishing attacks.

The Rise of Passwordless Authentication Solutions

More and more organisations are moving towards passwordless authentication, and particularly biometrics.

Here’s what makes a strong passwordless authentication solution:

Works across devices and platforms.
Doesn’t rely on stored passwords or sensitive data.
Proves who the user really is, not just what device they’re using.
Is easy to integrate and scalable across systems.

The best passwordless identity authentication solutions today combine two things:

Identity assurance – they prove the user authenticating is the same person who was verified during signup.
Strong user experience – they make it easy to log in, without friction or frustration.

That’s where biometrics solutions shine - especially ones that don’t store any personal data.

If you’re interested in seeing what a secure, modern authentication solution looks like, feel free to schedule in a custom demo.

Authentication Solutions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter

19 June 2025

Authentication Solutions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Matter

19 June 2025

The Two Main Types of Authentication

Why Possession Isn’t Enough

Why Modern Identity Authentication Solutions Needs to Do More

The Rise of Passwordless Authentication Solutions

Read Next

Identity Verification (IDV) Is Not Authentication: Why This Matters

The Rise of Digital Identity Wallets

Cloud-Based Multi-Factor Authentication: Beyond Passwords, OTPs, and FaceID