WebAuthn is a web standard developed by the W3C and FIDO Alliance that enables robust, phishing-resistant authentication using public key cryptography instead of traditional passwords.

Passwordless authentication replaces phishable, shared secrets like passwords with public-key cryptography.

Authenticator debt is the accumulation of legacy, phishable MFA factors (such as SMS, voice, or Email OTP) that leave an organization vulnerable to modern credential attacks.

To implement phishing-resistant MFA in Okta, practitioners should first audit current authentication logs to identify users of phishable factors (SMS/OTP).

Establishing clear objectives for identity architecture requires aligning technical constraints with the operational reality of mid-market organizations.

Organizations adopting phishing-resistant MFA move beyond OTP challenges to hardware-backed WebAuthn authenticators that verify the origin of each attempt.

FIDO2 is an open identity authentication standard developed by the FIDO Alliance that enables strong phishing-resistant authentication across devices and web services.

Hardware-backed biometrics refer to authentication mechanisms where the biometric capture, processing, and match validation occur entirely within a dedicated, physically isolated chip on the device.