Standards Milestone Could Mark Beginning of End for Passwords

A Web standards milestone announced Tuesday could point to the end of the road for pesky passwords.

The new standard, WebAuthn, has won near-final approval from the World Wide Web Consortium, which establishes Web standards.

WebAuthn defines a standard Application Program Interface that can be incorporated into browsers and Web infrastructure. It opens the door for new ways for users to authenticate themselves on the Internet that are more secure and convenient than passwords.