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I'm curious how Apple Passkeys will affect the Yubico business. Competition for U2F products may increase drastically as consumers begin adopting it. This may b

I'm curious how Apple Passkeys will affect the Yubico business. Competition for U2F products may increase drastically as consumers begin adopting it. This may be prescient timing to go public for Yubico.

labcomputer 4y ago
Probably not at all? Yubico is one of two brands that Apple recommends for securing your iCloud account.
- ec109685 4y ago
  The keys in our phone and our computers are going to handle a majority of the use cases that currently rely on yubico. We use them at work, but they aren't fundamentally more secure than the what's built into the computer.
  - labcomputer 4y ago
    Right, but you still “need” a pair of Yubikeys to secure the iCloud account that holds your Passkey credentials. So you’d use the Yubikeys less in day-to-day auth situations, but you still need to buy them.
    - ec109685 4y ago
      That or another iCloud device. If you have a couple, that can be your security backup (afaik). I do think the calculus changes for yubikey. Without built in security keys, every knowledge worker on earth should have a yubikey like thing, so their market is huge. With built in device security, then the keys might not be deployed at the same rate. It's a good point though. I also think companies (at least mine) like having full control over the yubikey experience whereas the way apple manages the secure enclave is more obtuse.
kylehotchkiss 4y ago
Passkeys already work with Secure Enclave and across multiple devices. Yubikeys require a purchase and potentially multiple keys. Passkeys will win the war for the everyday user, and Yubikeys will remain a niche IT item. Their focus on FIPS audiences is good though as that should provide a longer-term reliable source of sales. I hope Yubikey survives long term because I like their tech implementation (a key must be present AND physically touched to activate). I travel much more confidently with Yubikey locked accounts. I know where my Yubikeys are at home and I don't generally take them out with me. The war for better securing online accounts benefits us all though. haveibeenpwned hasn't gotten any smaller over the years :/
TacticalCoder 4y ago
> I'm curious how Apple Passkeys Wait... Passkeys are from the FIDO alliance and both Google, Apple and Microsoft have pledged to implement passkeys for auth no? I don't think it's "Apple passkeys" any more than they're "Google passkeys" or "Microsoft passkeys". Which is why it's so scary... It's going to steamroll all other kind of auth with these three juggernauts behind it.
- WorldMaker 4y ago
  Apple got first mover advantage on marketing Passkeys under that name, so a lot of consumers are going to call it an Apple thing just by Apple getting that jump on describing it to consumers.

labcomputer 4y ago

Probably not at all? Yubico is one of two brands that Apple recommends for securing your iCloud account.

ec109685 4y ago
The keys in our phone and our computers are going to handle a majority of the use cases that currently rely on yubico. We use them at work, but they aren't fundamentally more secure than the what's built into the computer.
- labcomputer 4y ago
  Right, but you still “need” a pair of Yubikeys to secure the iCloud account that holds your Passkey credentials. So you’d use the Yubikeys less in day-to-day auth situations, but you still need to buy them.
  - ec109685 4y ago
    That or another iCloud device. If you have a couple, that can be your security backup (afaik). I do think the calculus changes for yubikey. Without built in security keys, every knowledge worker on earth should have a yubikey like thing, so their market is huge. With built in device security, then the keys might not be deployed at the same rate. It's a good point though. I also think companies (at least mine) like having full control over the yubikey experience whereas the way apple manages the secure enclave is more obtuse.

kylehotchkiss 4y ago

Passkeys already work with Secure Enclave and across multiple devices. Yubikeys require a purchase and potentially multiple keys. Passkeys will win the war for the everyday user, and Yubikeys will remain a niche IT item. Their focus on FIPS audiences is good though as that should provide a longer-term reliable source of sales. I hope Yubikey survives long term because I like their tech implementation (a key must be present AND physically touched to activate). I travel much more confidently with Yubikey locked accounts. I know where my Yubikeys are at home and I don't generally take them out with me. The war for better securing online accounts benefits us all though. haveibeenpwned hasn't gotten any smaller over the years :/

TacticalCoder 4y ago

> I'm curious how Apple Passkeys Wait... Passkeys are from the FIDO alliance and both Google, Apple and Microsoft have pledged to implement passkeys for auth no? I don't think it's "Apple passkeys" any more than they're "Google passkeys" or "Microsoft passkeys". Which is why it's so scary... It's going to steamroll all other kind of auth with these three juggernauts behind it.

WorldMaker 4y ago
Apple got first mover advantage on marketing Passkeys under that name, so a lot of consumers are going to call it an Apple thing just by Apple getting that jump on describing it to consumers.