For years, IT security came down to a simple rule: choose a complex password and never share it. This logic long seemed sufficient — today, it is looking increasingly fragile.
Phishing, account compromise, automated attacks, identity theft… Recent security incidents share one common thread: in the vast majority of cases, the attack begins with the exploitation of a legitimate credential — in other words, with a login.
Can the password still be considered a reliable foundation?
In a context where collaborative environments now structure internal exchanges, decisions, and sometimes sensitive data flows, the question is no longer purely technological — it is becoming strategic: can the password still be considered a reliable foundation?
The Password: a Model Running Out of Steam
The problem with passwords is not solely technical — it is human. Faced with the proliferation of tools, platforms, and digital environments, users juggle dozens of credentials. Even with strict rules in place, the temptation to simplify is strong: reuse, minor variations, insecure storage.
Organisations have tried to address this vulnerability with multi-factor authentication (MFA). Whilst it has undeniably strengthened security, it often introduces additional friction: codes to enter, applications to install, repeated interruptions. As complexity mounts, security comes to be perceived as a constraint rather than an asset.
Never trust by default, always verify.
In modern collaborative environments, where user experience determines adoption, striking this balance becomes increasingly delicate.
Zero Trust: A Paradigm Shift
In response to these limitations, a new approach has gradually established itself: the Zero Trust model. The principle is straightforward in its formulation: never trust by default, always verify. Every connection is evaluated against multiple criteria: context, device, location, and the user’s habitual behaviour.
Security no longer rests solely on a secret (the password), but on a combination of signals. This approach is particularly relevant in distributed environments, where employees connect from different locations, devices, and networks. Modern collaboration assumes mobility, interconnection, and controlled openness. The security model must keep pace.
Passwordless: Securing Without Complicating
It is within this logic that so-called “passwordless” solutions are emerging — that is, authentication without a password. Rather than requesting a code to be memorised, authentication relies on mechanisms that are both more secure and simpler for the user: secure links, biometrics, cryptographic keys, contextual validation.
The benefit is not purely technical — it is also organisational. By reducing friction, adoption improves and informal workarounds diminish.
In this category, solutions such as AuthSezam offer an approach combining passwordless authentication with behavioural analysis. The system does not simply verify a declared identity; it also monitors whether the manner of connecting matches the user’s habitual profile. In the event of an anomaly, additional verification can be triggered.
This logic makes it possible to combine enhanced security with a seamless user experience.
In demanding environments, this approach can be natively integrated into structured collaborative platforms. This is notably the case with Whaller DONJON, which can be paired with OpenSezam’s AuthSezam solution to deliver passwordless authentication grounded in Zero Trust logic and advanced behavioural analysis.
🔎 Focus: OpenSezam, a Modern Approach to Authentication
OpenSezam brings together a suite of authentication and risk analysis solutions designed to secure access without complicating the user experience.
The objective: to progressively replace the password with more reliable and adaptive mechanisms.
| Solution | Who it is for | Primary purpose |
|---|---|---|
| AuthSezam IAM | Employees and partners | Secure passwordless login with Zero Trust logic |
| AuthSezam CIAM | Customers and external users | Smooth and secure access to digital platforms |
| AuthSezam EAM | Organisations using Microsoft Entra ID | Strengthening the second authentication factor |
| SmartSezam | All organisations | Real-time behavioural analysis and risk detection |
This approach makes it possible to combine enhanced security, contextual analysis, and ease of use. Within a structured collaborative environment, it contributes to aligning access governance, data protection, and user experience.
Securing Collaboration, Not Just Access
In both public and private organisations, collaborative platforms now concentrate strategic exchanges: internal documents, sensitive discussions, project coordination, regulatory information.
A collaborative environment may be sovereign, resilient, and compliant with the most stringent regulatory requirements. Yet if access itself remains vulnerable, the entire chain is vulnerable too.
Securing access must therefore not be conceived as a peripheral layer, but as a foundational component of the digital infrastructure.
With this in mind, integrating strong and passwordless authentication solutions such as AuthSezam within an environment like Whaller DONJON makes it possible to align identity protection, regulatory compliance, and sovereignty requirements. Access becomes consistent with the sensitivity level of the data being handled.
User Experience and Cybersecurity: a False Dilemma
For a long time, security and simplicity were perceived as antagonistic. The more secure a system, the more complex it was; the simpler it was, the more fragile it was deemed to be.
This opposition no longer holds. Recent advances demonstrate that it is possible to reduce dependence on passwords whilst simultaneously strengthening controls — notably through behavioural analysis and adaptive models.
For organisations, the challenge is twofold: protecting critical environments without discouraging users. In a world where work is hybrid, distributed, and mobile, authentication is no longer a technical detail — it is becoming a structuring element of digital governance.
Towards a Trust Infrastructure
Digital transformation has shifted critical infrastructure towards software. Collaborative platforms now organise production, coordination, and sometimes decision-making itself.
In this context, trust can no longer rest on mechanisms inherited from an era when systems were closed and centralised.
Thinking of authentication as a strategic component, integrating passwordless and behavioural approaches, and reconciling security with user experience: these choices reflect a new level of maturity.
When these mechanisms are underpinned by a qualified collaborative platform designed for sensitive environments — such as Whaller DONJON — the chain of trust becomes complete: sovereign hosting, controlled governance, and enhanced authentication.
The password may not have disappeared entirely, but it is no longer, on its own, the guarantor of security.
And in a digital environment where every connection can be a point of entry, the way in which one authenticates says a great deal about the robustness of the whole.
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