Table of Contents
Amazon Web Services and Passwordless Authentication
Keep in mind that having to remember passwords might be a hassle, particularly when it comes to passwords that you don’t use often, so let’s discuss how to resolve that with AWS Cognito Passwordless Authentication. You, like the vast majority of people, are undoubtedly acquainted with the need of clicking the “forgot password” link or button on websites and mobile applications.
Many individuals are inclined to engage in risky behaviors such as using short passwords, using passwords that are readily guessable, reusing the same password across several websites and applications, and so on. Password-based security, although it is possible to implement solutions for this (e.g. password managers), in fact it is not very secure, and it surely isn’t very user-friendly.
There are alternatives to logging in using passwords, such as utilizing a fingerprint scan or face recognition, which may be used to authenticate. However, using such techniques is not always possible.
Is AWS Cognito and its Passwordless Authentication the Answer?
Amazon Cognito is another option that you may use to your advantage. For example, what if you didn’t have to input a password when you first logged in and instead the website or app just sent you a temporary one-time login code in the form of an e-mail, SMS, or push notification instead? You just obtain the code and input it, and you are granted access. Like a “lost password” procedure, but much shorter and less complicated. Furthermore, it does not convey the impression that you have forgotten your password.
Custom authentication processes may be created using Amazon Cognito user pools, which are available for free. In this blog article, we’ll go through an example implementation of a passwordless authentication flow that delivers a one-time login code to the user’s email address, in order to illustrate how it’s done.
AWS Cognito Passwordless Authentication
The answer in broad strokes
Several Amazon Lambda functions are used in conjunction with an Amazon Cognito user pool to provide passwordless email authentication. You’ll need to utilize them in conjunction with one another to create the unique authentication flow. Sending the emails with the one-time login tokens is accomplished via the usage of Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES). Additionally, bespoke UI pages are used to assist with the sign-in process (HTML and JavaScript).
For the full in-depth dive head over to the AWS site for more details on the AWS Cognito Passwordless Authentication Solution.
