Standard MFA (TOTP apps, SMS codes) adds a second factor to a password, but the password still exists and can be phished or stolen, and the MFA code can often be relayed in real-time by attackers. Passwordless MFA eliminates the password entirely. In BlastShield's implementation, no shared secret is ever created or transmitted; authentication is based on a cryptographic challenge-response that is mathematically bound to the user's physical device and biometric, making the entire credential theft attack class impossible.

No. BlastShield Authenticator is fully self-contained within the BlastShield platform. It does not require any external identity provider. This is a significant advantage for OT environments, which often cannot or should not have cloud identity provider dependencies, both for security (external IdPs are high-value attack targets) and for availability (OT systems must function during cloud connectivity outages).

AI-powered phishing creates convincing fake login pages and relays captured credentials to the real site in real time. This attack is defeated by traditional MFA only if the code expires faster than the relay, which TOTP codes (30 seconds) do not. BlastShield Authenticator's QR challenge is unique to the specific login attempt and expires in seconds. There is no "code" to capture and relay, the challenge response is cryptographically tied to the user's device keystore and is not replayable under any circumstances.

A lost phone immediately removes that user's authentication capability, which is the correct security outcome. An administrator can revoke the device's keystore binding in the Orchestrator and provision a new device. During recovery, the user can be temporarily granted access via an alternative administrator-controlled path. A lost phone does not give the finder any access, the biometric requirement ensures the phone is useless without the engineer's fingerprint or face.