Cisco announces duo passwordless authentication for single sign on Apps

Networking and security company Cisco has announced that their customers will now have access to duo passwordless authentication to help enhance the security of single sign on (SSO) applications. Instead of using traditional alpha-numeric passwords users will use biometric authentication through Windows Hello, Mac Touch ID, as well as security keys. The company has also added Duo Mobile App as an additional passwordless authentication method.

The announcement comes in the backdrop of Cisco’s 2022 Duo Trusted Access Report that showed biometrics were enabled on 81% of mobile devices among Duo customers, and that monthly multi-factor authentications grew 38% annually.

The company said that the move is aimed at simplifying implementation of duo passwordless and lowering the cost for customers. Consequently, this will help better meet the needs of end-users.

“Passwordless authentication reduces the risk of phishing attacks and their ability to utilise stolen passwords or as we’ve seen more recently, MFA fatigue,” said Dave Lewis, global advisory CISO at Cisco. “As cyber attacks continue to move closer to end-users, there is a huge opportunity to embrace low-friction authentication methods that ensure only trusted users and devices gain access to applications and corporate resources,” he added.

This move is just one of multiple new investments of Cisco into its security portfolio. Another notable upgrade includes the addition of Secure Firewall 3105 to the Secure Firewall 3100 series which Cisco says will offer more support for remote users and increase VPN speed and performance by 17 times.

The company has also upgraded its cloud-based Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) platform Umbrella by adding stronger data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities to deal with increased cloud authentication as more customers migrate their critical resources to the cloud.

Additionally, Cisco has added the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) specialisation to its partner program that will serve as proof of the partner’s knowledge in Cisco’s integrated networking and security architecture.

“Security is no longer optional. It is critical to every major initiative an organisation may have,” said Jeetu Patel, EVP and GM of security and collaboration at Cisco. “We are committed to delivering more value for our partners by continuing to drive innovation and making it easier to do business with Cisco. Partners can land key products and then expand across the Cisco Secure portfolio to increase profitability while enabling customers to securely achieve their digital transformation goals,” he concluded.