Google Passkeys’ Emerging Security Risk Explained

Recent research exposes how the Google passkeys ecosystem, designed to eliminate passwords, could inadvertently introduce new attack paths, highlighting that passwordless authentication is only as secure as the systems and recovery processes that support it.

While passwordless authentication is designed to replace traditional passwords with device-bound cryptographic credentials, the research shows that Google’s implementation uses a cloud-based component to manage synced passkeys through passkey providers such as Google Password Manager across devices. While this approach enables usability features such as device onboarding, cross-device sync and account recovery and re-enrollment workflows, it also introduces potential attack paths if the surrounding infrastructure or the user’s passkey-provider account is compromised.

The key takeaway is that passwordless authentication—and this also holds true with Google passkeys—is not inherently risk-free. FIDO-based passkeys remain highly resistant to phishing and replay attacks, but security depends on the integrity of implementation, recovery flows and identity management processes. Most organisations operate in hybrid environments, where passwords and passkeys coexist, and phishing remains a persistent threat. This underscores that authentication must be treated as part of a layered security model, not a standalone solution.

Keeper’s research shows that organisations are already navigating this complexity. Around 40% operate in hybrid environments where passwords and passkeys coexist, and 67% still cite phishing as a persistent threat even as passwordless adoption increases. This reflects a broader reality: authentication is not a single control, but part of a layered security model.

From a cybersecurity perspective, organisations should prioritise control and visibility by enforcing least-privilege access, verifying devices, securing recovery processes, and protecting credentials within a zero-knowledge framework. Privileged Access Management (PAM) adds an additional layer of oversight, limiting the impact of any compromised credentials and ensuring sensitive systems remain protected.

Passwordless authentication represents a meaningful step forward, but the surrounding ecosystem, with its cloud services, device trust models and recovery mechanisms, is where attackers will continue to focus. Ultimately, the organisations that succeed will be those that treat Google passkeys, or any passkey for that matter, as one component of a broader identity security strategy, rather than a standalone solution.