Startup Offers Free Version of its 'Passwordless' Technology Beyond Identity co-founders hope to move the needle in eliminating the need for passwords, but experts say killing passwords altogether won't be easy. A startup with the goal of eradicating passwords and led by Netscape founder Jim Clark and broadband network pioneer Tom Jermoluk today released a free version of its service that authenticates and authorizes users without the use of passwords. The free version of Beyond Identity's service includes support from the company during business hours and deployment to an unlimited number of users or customers. Beyond's technology, based on X.509 for asymmetric key cryptography and TLS for encrypted communications, makes the endpoint device its own certificate authority.