In today’s hyperconnected world, authentication has become the cornerstone of digital trust.
Whether it is a customer logging into their account, an employee accessing sensitive data, or a remote agent verifying identity, strong authentication is now essential.
Cybercriminals no longer attack networks first; they target identities. According to the 2024 Verizon DBIR report, over 70% of breaches begin with stolen credentials or session hijacking.
To protect their digital ecosystems, organizations need authentication that is strong, adaptive, and compliant with PSD2, eIDAS, and CNIL best practices.
Understanding Strong Authentication
Strong authentication, often known as multi-factor authentication (MFA), combines several types of verification to confirm a user’s identity.
It relies on three main factors:
- Something you know such as a password or PIN
- Something you have such as a smart card, token, or trusted device
- Something you are such as biometric data
However, modern security is not only about adding more steps. It is about making authentication smarter, adaptive, and almost invisible to the user—responding to the level of risk in real time.
Push Authentication: Secure and Simple
SMS-based MFA and one-time passwords have become vulnerable to phishing, SIM swaps, and malware.
Push authentication offers a stronger and more convenient alternative. When a user tries to log in, they receive a signed push notification on a trusted device. The login is approved using biometric verification such as facial recognition, a fingerprint, or a personal PIN.
Each push request is:
- Encrypted and digitally signed
- Bound to the session and device certificate
- Logged immutably for audit and compliance
By replacing static codes and SMS messages with secure mobile confirmations, push authentication improves both protection and user experience.
Certificate-Based Authentication: Proven and Trusted
For critical industries including finance, healthcare, and government, certificate-based authentication (CBA) remains one of the most trusted approaches.
Each device or user receives a digital certificate issued by a recognized PKI, and authentication happens through cryptographic proof rather than shared secrets.
Its main advantages include:
- Resistance to phishing, since no credentials are exposed
- Device-level assurance, with certificates tied to managed hardware
- Full traceability, as every event is cryptographically verifiable
Smart cards, USB tokens, or virtual certificates stored in secure hardware components such as TPMs or HSMs bring hardware-grade trust to digital access.
FIDO2 and Passwordless Authentication
The FIDO2 standard takes security a step further by eliminating passwords altogether.
It uses public–private key pairs stored on the user’s device, allowing authentication through a simple biometric action or a local PIN.
This method offers several benefits:
- Protection against phishing and credential replay
- Privacy preservation, as biometric data never leaves the device
- Compatibility across browsers, devices, and operating systems
FIDO2 allows organizations to move confidently toward a passwordless environment where authentication is both secure and seamless.
Beyond MFA: Orchestrating Digital Trust
At Xayone, we do not only provide authentication—we orchestrate it.
Our XIAM Identity Fabric brings together Push, FIDO2, and Certificate-Based Authentication within a unified Zero Trust framework.
This orchestration enables organizations to:
- Apply contextual, risk-based policies for each user or device
- Integrate external IdPs, PKIs, or identity hubs through open APIs
- Monitor and audit every authentication event in real time
Through this approach, trust becomes continuous and traceable across every interaction—from user login to digital signature.
Why Orchestration Matters
In a hybrid and cloud-driven world, identity has become the new security perimeter, coordinating authentication across users, systems, and devices strengthens control while improving efficiency and compliance.
Organizations that orchestrate strong authentication gain:
- Compliance with GDPR, CNIL, eIDAS, and NIST frameworks
- Higher operational efficiency, with fewer password resets and disruptions
- A unified view of customer, workforce, and partner identities
By aligning authentication with orchestration, security evolves from a defensive layer into a strategic asset that reinforces digital trust.
Orchestrate Your Strong Authentication with Xayone
Strong authentication is not just a control; it is the foundation of confidence between users and systems.
The future belongs to organizations that can connect identities, devices, and trust services within one intelligent and sovereign layer.
At Xayone, we believe in certificate-based, passwordless, orchestrated authentication as the core of secure digital ecosystems—a belief shared by KuppingerCole, who highlight Identity Fabrics as a key component of modern cybersecurity architectures.
Discover how Xayone’s Identity Fabric unifies Push, FIDO2, and Certificate-Based Authentication into one continuous layer of digital trust.
Interested ? Fill in the contact form or email us at sales@xayone.com.
