{"686132":{"#nid":"686132","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Research Will Move Us Closer to a Passwordless Society","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough they are currently essential to online security and privacy, the days of relying on password protection may be numbered, thanks to Assistant Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EFrank Li\u003C\/strong\u003E and his National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile passwords have security limitations and can be challenging to use, emerging technologies such as Fast IDentity Online 2 (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/security\/business\/security-101\/what-is-fido2\u0022\u003EFIDO2\u003C\/a\u003E) and other passkey authentication methods provide strong security and usability. For example, if you have ever used your smartphone\u2019s facial recognition feature to log in to your bank account instead of typing out the password, you have used a FIDO2 passkey.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsers and online services, however, have been slow to adopt the new technology despite the benefits. Li\u2019s NSF CAREER Award project addresses this challenge. Along with advancing the technology, Li will also advocate for its use.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are not assuming that this technology is coming,\u201d said Li. \u201cIt is already here. The challenge is to get people to use this technology.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis up-and-coming technology has been part of Li\u2019s research for some time. His prior work provided a new security analysis of the FIDO2 authentication protocol, which includes passkeys.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELi\u2019s CAREER project will investigate real-world uses of FIDO2\/passkeys and security and usability issues that can arise. A goal of his research is to identify and resolve problems before they become widespread and more difficult to address.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot to do when it comes to authentication research, and there\u2019s even more to be done with passkeys,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOnline authentication is a core function needed for online security. Making any changes to it will have huge implications. For example, accounts that send spam and phishing attacks are often accounts with compromised passwords. A \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/tonybradley\/2025\/05\/01\/are-we-finally-entering-a-passwordless-era\/\u0022\u003Epasswordless future\u003C\/a\u003E will reduce that threat.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe final component of Li\u2019s CAREER Award is an educational outreach program. The NSF wants researchers to inspire the next generation of scientists as a part of their projects. Li plans to reach out to Atlanta high schools and engage their computer science programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/funding\/opportunities\/career-faculty-early-career-development-program\u0022\u003ENSF CAREER Awards\u003C\/a\u003E are prestigious federal grants given to early career academic faculty and are widely recognized as a career defining moment. Li\u2019s project will be conducted in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy as well as the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough they are currently essential to online security and privacy, the days of relying on password protection may be numbered, thanks to Assistant Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EFrank Li\u003C\/strong\u003E and his National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award project.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Although they are currently essential to online security and privacy, the days of relying on password protection may be numbered, thanks to Assistant Professor Frank Li and his National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award project."}],"uid":"36253","created_gmt":"2025-11-03 14:35:58","changed_gmt":"2025-11-03 14:41:22","author":"John Popham","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-11-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-11-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678516":{"id":"678516","type":"image","title":"Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAssistant Professor Frank Li standing outside of the Coda Building in Tech Square. \u003Cem\u003EPhotos by Terence Rushin\/College of Computing\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1762180596","gmt_created":"2025-11-03 14:36:36","changed":"1762180596","gmt_changed":"2025-11-03 14:36:36","alt":"A man standing outside in a building breezeway. He is wearing glasses, a blue polo and is smiling.","file":{"fid":"262565","name":"Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/03\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/11\/03\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1195801,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/11\/03\/Frank-Li_86A0205-Enhanced-NR-copy.jpg?itok=4KqQsNnG"}}},"media_ids":["678516"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"660367","name":"School of Cybersecurity and Privacy"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Popham\u0026nbsp;Communications Officer II | School of Cybersecurity and Privacy\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jpopham3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}