How Does YubiKey Help Secure Accounts?

hooded figure behind shield with keyhole

Over the past few years, millions of online account breaches have occurred, some making global headlines. Such incidents make people rethink their cybersecurity. How safe are you on the Internet? Are your accounts really secure? Well, if all you have is a regular password protecting your accounts, then you’re at risk. You need a good proxy server for online security and anonymity. Moreover, you need a credential mechanism like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to upgrade the security of your accounts. That is what YubiKey can do.

Hardware authentication

How does Yubikey help secure accounts? It offers users a type of enhanced security that a hacker can’t access. Since YubiKey is a physical piece of hardware, only you will have access to it. You plug it into a USB port and wait for the blinking light. When you see a request for the key, press the button and you’re in. So this piece of hardware makes a password unnecessary. As long as you have that physical key, no one else can access your accounts.

Supreme build quality

Such a small piece of hardware – just how strong is YubiKey? The company itself proclaims that the key is “nearly indestructible.” They add:

“The standard-sized YubiKey is made of injection-molded plastic encasing the circuitry, while the exposed elements consist of military-grade hardened gold. Waterproof and crushproof, the standard-sized YubiKey attaches to your keychain alongside your house and car keys”.

This 3-gram piece of hardware is designed to secure your accounts and endure. That means that you don’t have to worry about damaging your key and getting locked out of your accounts.

Evolving technology

One important strength of Yubico – maker of YubiKey – is how it keeps improving. It offers clients multiple products including the YubiKey 5 Series, YubiKey FIPS series, YubiKey 5C NFC, and – coming soon – YubiKey Bio. And it’s not just for your PC alone. Mobile devices enabled for Near Field Communication (NFC) can use it as well. YubiKey enhances your account security by leveraging features like FIDO U2F (Fast Identity Online, Universal 2nd Factor) open authentication standard to strengthen MFA, and FIDO2 standard to expand authentication options.

Alternative options

Having some options available can help you to significantly enhance your overall online security. One such option to consider is Trezor. Using this wallet, you can easily and securely store, send, and receive various cryptocurrencies. But you can also use it as a MFA device like Yubikey, for any service that supports FIDO or U2F. Like the Yubikey, the private keys are on the device itself and not on your phone or PC.

Unfortunately, not every service supports devices like YubiKey or Trezor.

Wrap up

Whether you’re an individual or a business, we can no longer deny that passwords barely suffice to keep our accounts secure. The frequency of account breaches in recent years should serve as a warning to us all. The need for quality proxy servers and MFA measures is unmistakable. Just consider what would be at stake if any of your accounts is breached. Are you willing to risk it? Best not take that chance.