New Pass-Ta-Key Malware Can Steal Google Passkeys

Passwords help us get into our accounts, but many websites now use passkeys, which are like secret digital keys.

Passkeys are supposed to be very safe because the owner usually has to show a fingerprint or type a special code to use them.

Google lets people keep their passkeys on all their devices at the same time.

That is handy because you don't have to make a new passkey every time you buy a new computer.

But bad people have invented a sneaky computer virus called Pass-Ta-Key.

It gets onto Windows computers and quietly talks to the Chrome web browser.

The virus asks Google's computers to create a valid passkey login for the victim.

Nobody gets asked for a fingerprint or a PIN code, so the bad people get the passkeys without any check.

A security company called Malwarebytes warned people about this attack.

The virus comes in three different versions that attack in different ways.