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Yubikeys are about the same cost: https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-4-series/ https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-4-series/ What makes you think that

Yubikeys are about the same cost: https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-4-series/ https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-4-series/ What makes you think that the cost to produce the hardware is less than $10? And what reason would companies have to offer keys below cost?

MikeKusold 8y ago
The Yubikey 4 also provide more functionality such as PGP. This is more like the Yubikey Security Key ($20): https://www.yubico.com/product/security-key-by-yubico/#security-key https://www.yubico.com/product/security-key-by-yubico/#secur...
spuz 8y ago
If a bluetooth locator tag is only about £3.34 [1], then a tag with an encryption chip should not be 10x the cost. Google has an incentive for their keys to become widespread and well adopted because people will associate their brand with "high security". It also actually helps Google if they don't have to deal with support requests from users who've had their accounts compromised. [1]http://amzn.eu/d/bMowBkS http://amzn.eu/d/bMowBkS
michaelt 8y ago
The open-source U2F Zero claims ~$3 of parts and a ~$2 PCB [1] ordering a single unit. Making a large volume, that price is only going to come down. Admittedly you'd have to pay for a plastic case, assembly costs, an envelope and stamps. But if I can get a 16GB flash drive for $8 with free shipping [2] the plastic case, assembly etc can't be that expensive! [1] https://github.com/conorpp/u2f-zero https://github.com/conorpp/u2f-zero [2] https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-016G-B35/dp/B005FYNSZA/ https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ...
- watersb 8y ago
  Bulk procurement, certification, software all affect cost, of course. When a flaw was discovered in 4096-bit RSA ley generation, Yubico sent me replacements for all of my registered hardware tokens, no additional cost to me. Good thing about a standard like U2F is reducing software and certification costs, and sure if you are clear to offer no post-sales support, then you should be able to get legitimate hardware for maybe $10.
  - michaelt 8y ago
    Oh, absolutely! I was responding to the statement "The actual hardware probably does not cost more than $10" which refers to the hardware specifically. The retail price would be higher than the hardware costs to cover software, support costs, returns, profit, shipping, credit card fees, and so on.

MikeKusold 8y ago

The Yubikey 4 also provide more functionality such as PGP. This is more like the Yubikey Security Key ($20): https://www.yubico.com/product/security-key-by-yubico/#security-key https://www.yubico.com/product/security-key-by-yubico/#secur...

spuz 8y ago

If a bluetooth locator tag is only about £3.34 [1], then a tag with an encryption chip should not be 10x the cost. Google has an incentive for their keys to become widespread and well adopted because people will associate their brand with "high security". It also actually helps Google if they don't have to deal with support requests from users who've had their accounts compromised. [1]http://amzn.eu/d/bMowBkS http://amzn.eu/d/bMowBkS

michaelt 8y ago

The open-source U2F Zero claims ~$3 of parts and a ~$2 PCB [1] ordering a single unit. Making a large volume, that price is only going to come down. Admittedly you'd have to pay for a plastic case, assembly costs, an envelope and stamps. But if I can get a 16GB flash drive for $8 with free shipping [2] the plastic case, assembly etc can't be that expensive! [1] https://github.com/conorpp/u2f-zero https://github.com/conorpp/u2f-zero [2] https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-016G-B35/dp/B005FYNSZA/ https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ...

watersb 8y ago
Bulk procurement, certification, software all affect cost, of course. When a flaw was discovered in 4096-bit RSA ley generation, Yubico sent me replacements for all of my registered hardware tokens, no additional cost to me. Good thing about a standard like U2F is reducing software and certification costs, and sure if you are clear to offer no post-sales support, then you should be able to get legitimate hardware for maybe $10.
- michaelt 8y ago
  Oh, absolutely! I was responding to the statement "The actual hardware probably does not cost more than $10" which refers to the hardware specifically. The retail price would be higher than the hardware costs to cover software, support costs, returns, profit, shipping, credit card fees, and so on.