Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
We're being told now to stop using passwords online altogether. So it's time to embrace something called passkeys or risk getting hacked. This warning is coming from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre. They say we're all too vulnerable online. So here to explain it is our tech correspondent, Jessica Kelly. Hello, Jessica. Good morning.
So past keys, I think people will be familiar with them because some websites now ask you to set them up.
Chapter 2: What are passkeys and why should we use them instead of passwords?
But what are they?
Essentially, Clare, what it does is it adds an extra line of defense without adding extra strain to logging in. So as you correctly said there, we're being asked to move away from passwords because now with the invention of AI and other technological tools, sophisticated hacking bodies can just put in an account and an automated program can run to try and infiltrate your password.
So the password isn't enough. Then we were told to go down the road of multi-factor authentication, which we'll all be familiar with. This is where you try to log into a website, you get texted a code, you put the code in and then you get access. However, the very clever and sophisticated hacking gangs have found ways around that.
That's why if you know anyone whose WhatsApp account was infiltrated, their Instagram and so on, That's how that was done because of human error. So pass keys remove all of this and it relies on you being exactly who you say you are. So when you go to a website, rather than putting in a password, it'll use your biometric data.
So, for example, I'm speaking to you now from my Google Pixel 10 phone. On my Google Pixel 10 phone, when I try to log into a website, it'll either scan my face or if I'm looking absolutely shocked on that day and the phone doesn't recognize me, it'll ask me for my fingerprint. And that will then verify that it is 100% me. It's nothing that scammers or criminals can get hold of.
Therefore, they can let me into my account.
OK, and the whole logic behind this advice from the National Cyber Security Centre in the UK is because our passwords are really vulnerable because generally they're really bad, aren't they?
They're really bad. And again, you know, it's funny when I think back over the last number of years, I spent years of my life talking about passwords and it was initially don't just have password one, two, three. But then we had to say, don't do password one, two, three, four, exclamation point.
Because again, the websites were trying to prompt us to create sophisticated passwords, but it just wasn't working. But the reason why this advice is so important is because if you think about it, How much of your life, of your data related to your life is stored within online accounts?
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Chapter 3: How do passkeys enhance online security against hacking?
Exactly. So what you'll see over the next wee while, like we're seeing websites like eBay and to be fair to Google and Microsoft and indeed Samsung, they have been great at prompting users when they visit a website and their password can be stored with a passkey.
What I would ask people to do is when that prompt comes up, accept it, particularly if it's anything that credit card, banking, personal information is going into, just to give you that peace of mind. And the brilliant thing about this is The facial scan or the fingerprint scan, it takes milliseconds to do.
You know, the other day I got locked out of my work laptop because, again, I looked shocking and the camera didn't recognize me and I couldn't remember my pin. So I had to do the big work around to try and figure it out. But that's once out of, say, 100 times that I've tried to log in. So the pin is always your backup.
It's important that you remember the pin in case the biometrics fail for whatever reason. But on the majority of instances, you will just sail through and be more secure, which is ultimately the dream for us, the consumer.
Now, the other story I wanted to talk to you about is a BBC story about our bad habits in relation to charging cables. If you can find your charging cables when you need them, which seems to be a problem in our house. But does it matter how you store them and how you handle them, Jess?
It does. And it causes me physical pain when I see some of our beloved colleagues taking their charger cables out of their bags and they're wrapped up like a Christmas bow. That is not the thing to do. If you think about what's inside the cable, what we see is either the plastic cover or maybe it's a material cover on the on the outside.
But inside is very intricate wiring that is vital then to when you plug in your phone to be able to get you the charge that you need and you require. So when you wrap them up, you are bending little wires that are thinner than your hair and that can cause damage. Not only can it break the charger, but it also then could be a fire hazard as well.
And it's the least exciting thing in the world to think about how you store and how you fold and how you roll up your cables. But if you've ever watched a movie, like if you think of Almost Famous, that film from many moons ago where you got to see the roadies wrapping up after a gig. And what they do is they do the over-under. Again, like kind of like a garden hose.
If you can roll it in a perfect circle, not too tight, don't pull the end bit of the cable through and wrap it up into a neat little bow. All of that is damaging the cable. And what it's doing, not only is it the fire hazard, but you're also cutting down the lifespan of the cable as well. Hmm.
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Chapter 4: What are the benefits of biometric data in passkeys?
So it's just it's something that takes a matter of seconds. What I would recommend people do, and again, it's something that's available on Amazon. maybe phones that are eight years or newer in terms of age, get a wireless charger. I have one on my desk in Newstalk. I have one by my bedside locker. It means then that the cable is fixed in place. There's a little disc on which my phone sits.
So the only thing that ever moves is my phone. You can get fast charging ones. So again, if you are going to ask you, is it fast enough? Yeah, no, it is. It's fascinating. Again, you can get ones that are slow charger, slow charging ones. But I bought two fast charging ones. So, again, I can get, say, 30 percent extra on my phone in 15 minutes, which is phenomenal.
And it just means then I'm not having to mess around with any of the cables. I would also say I know a lot of parents who if their kids have tablets and sometimes they're sitting on the sofa watching the tablet with the cable stretched across.
Again, that's not a great thing to do because you are just ebbing away at something that, as I said, could be a fire hazard, but can also damage your tablet. And these things just end up in the landfill then.
Jess, going back to the past keys conversation we just had. So some listener reaction to this. fingerprints, facial recognition. They're the thin end of the wedge giving biometrics to private companies for a bit of convenience. Not a chance I'll do this. I'm going to stick with a password. And then another one concerned about security.
What will happen if a phone gets stolen along with a wallet or a purse? There'll be a photograph on the driving license, which could then be used for the biometric passkey. And hey, presto, they're in.
So just a few points on this. So in terms of, you're not giving your biometric data to a website when you're using a passkey. The passkey is stored locally on your phone and that's part of the beauty of this. So at the minute, if you have a website that you go to regularly and you have an account on that website,
and you create a specific password for that website, your password is then stored on one of their servers, right? So that information is stored at the business. The biometric data lives and is only stored on your phone. And I think this is a bit of a misconception that people have. when it comes to biometric data. What happens on your phone stays on your phone.
It's similar to the conversation that we've been having in relation to the digital age verification when it comes to social media. This information is not leaving your phone. In relation to what happens if and when a device gets nicked, it is a pain in the face. There is no politer term for it. It is an absolute dose. But again, to be fair to the tech companies like Apple,
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