Microsoft is retiring the email passcode system long used to grant temporary access to shared files in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. The company plans to replace it with Microsoft Entra B2B guest accounts, shifting external collaboration toward a fully identity-based model across Microsoft 365.
The change affects both commercial and government cloud environments. Beginning in May 2026, new external sharing invitations will start using Entra B2B instead of the existing one-time passcode system. The transition will accelerate through the summer, with the older authentication method beginning its shutdown in July and disappearing completely by the end of August 2026. [Read more…]
Microsoft is expanding passwordless security across Windows by introducing passkey authentication through Microsoft Entra. The new capability allows users to sign in to Entra-protected resources using Windows Hello instead of traditional passwords, adding stronger resistance against phishing attacks and credential theft.
For decades, modern encryption has rested on a simple assumption. Some math problems take so long to solve that no practical computer can crack them in a useful timeframe. That assumption built online banking, secure email, VPN tunnels, software signing, and almost every digital transaction that powers business and government today.
We’ve spent the last few years watching language models get disturbingly good at sounding smart. They write coherent essays, debug code, explain quantum physics in simple terms. The experience is convincing enough that serious people have started talking about these systems as if they’re on the cusp of real intelligence, or already past it.