Authenticator Enables Password-free Sign-ins

A preview of a password-free Microsoft Authenticator application for iOS and Android devices was announced at Microsoft’s Ignite conference in Sept. 2018. In addition to improving an organization’s security perimeter by beginning the process of removing passwords from the authentication process, the change should also expedite the application log-on process for users, when Azure Active Directory (AAD)-based authentication is used.

As shown here, a user has begun to sign in to an application like Office 365 through AAD by entering their username in the prompt. Dialog boxes then open in the Web browser on their PC (left) and mobile device (right), challenging the user to verify that they are in possession of the mobile device that Azure multifactor authentication (MFA) expects. If the user selects the correct number on their mobile device shown on the screen on the right, they will be asked to approve or deny this sign-in request and then provide either the preconfigured on-device biometric measure (fingerprint, facial recognition, etc.) or a user-specific PIN in certain on-premises scenarios.