Passwordless Authentication Systems: Architecture, Protocols, Security Analysis, and Large-Scale Impact

Sasibhushana Matcha , Sreekanth Rachamadugu

Passwordless authentication, passkeys, WebAuthn, FIDO2, public-key cryptography, CIAM, phishing resistance, device trust.

Abstract—Passwords continue to dominate authentication despite well-known weaknesses such as phishing susceptibility, credential stuffing, password reuse, and high operational costs driven by resets and fraud remediation. Passwordless authentication replaces shared secrets with cryptographic, device-bound credentials and standardized browser and platform APIs, enabling phishing-resistant login flows with improved usability. This paper presents an end-to-end study of passwordless authentication systems. We describe a reference architecture, enrollment and login protocols, device binding and key protection models, account recovery patterns, policy and risk controls, telemetry and reliability requirements, and a comprehensive threat analysis. We also provide pseudo-evaluation results representative of large-scale deployments, demonstrating improvements in login success rate, latency, support ticket reduction, and account takeover risk. The paper concludes with migration guidance, limitations, and future research directions for continuous authentication and privacy-preserving identity systems.

Published Paper   E-Certificate

"Passwordless Authentication Systems: Architecture, Protocols, Security Analysis, and Large-Scale Impact", IJSDR - International Journal of Scientific Development and Research (www.IJSDR.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.11, Issue 1, page no.a523-a528, January-2026, Available :https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2601055.pdf

Volume 11 Issue 1, January-2026

Pages : a523-a528

Paper Reg. ID: IJSDR_306846

Published Paper Id: IJSDR2601055

Downloads: 000271

Research Area: Science and Technology

Country: McKinney, TX, United States

Published Paper PDF: https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2601055

Published Paper URL: https://ijsdr.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJSDR2601055

ISSN: 2455-2631 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.15 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.15 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator

Publisher: IJSDR(IJ Publication) Janvi Wave

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and The Open Definition