# What is Phishing-Resistant Authentication?

> Phishing-resistant authentication binds the authentication proof to the legitimate service, so a credential captured or replayed on a fake site is useless — typically via passkeys, FIDO2/WebAuthn, or certificate-based methods.

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## Content

Standard phishing works because shared secrets — passwords, one-time codes, push approvals — can be entered into or relayed through a look-alike site. Phishing-resistant methods cryptographically tie the authentication to the legitimate origin and verify the user device-side, removing the relayable secret.

### Key points

- **High-value priority:** Administrators, finance staff, executives, and remote workers facing targeted phishing benefit most; roll out by risk, not only by convenience.
- **Enrollment and recovery:** Device loss, replacement, and account recovery must be as strong as the login method, or recovery becomes the weak point.
- **Important limitation:** Phishing resistance protects the authentication event, not the session afterward. Token theft, malicious OAuth grants, endpoint compromise, and social engineering of recovery or support staff remain possible.

### Related terms

[Multi-factor authentication (MFA)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/multi-factor-authentication/>) · [Passkey](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/passkey/>) · [Passwordless authentication](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/passwordless-authentication/>) · [Authentication](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/authentication/>) · [Phishing](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/phishing/>) · [Adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) phishing](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/adversary-in-the-middle-phishing/>)

### Sources

[CISA, Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication](https://www.cisa.gov/MFA) · [NIST SP 800-63B-4, Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Authenticator Management](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/63/b/4/final)

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