YUBICO

Company offers advanced password system by physical key

Passwords are stolen and misused in almost every hacking attack. Even advanced two-step methods like sending a security code via SMS or an app are vulnerable. Security experts have been working on better solutions for years. Swedish-American businesswoman Stina Ehrensvärd, head of Yubico, believes she has found the right solution and has managed to bring rival tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft and Twitter together to a common standard.

“The development offers a very high level of security. You just need to make sure the owner doesn't lose the key” – featured Ehrensvärd. Many big tech companies such as Google, Microsoft or Twitter already use Yubico keys among their employees. Soon, however, the technology will be able to be used even more widely. “Our goal is to make passwords obsolete and the internet more secure,” said Ehrensvärd.

The manager founded Yubico together with her husband in Stockholm in 2007. In 2009, the topic of cybersecurity became extremely important all over the world: large IT companies in the United States of America were victims of hacking actions for several months. The series of attacks was called Operation Aurora and was attributed to state attackers from China. Google was also among the victims. “Google wanted 20,000 YubiKeys from us. They introduced the technology to all of their employees,” the expert enthused. Ehrensvärd moved the company to Silicon Valley to convince other companies to adopt the method. The founder created an alliance of technology companies that developed an open standard called Fido to eliminate passwords in the future.

Mark Risher, Google's Chief Accountability Officer, believes this milestone is testament to the collective work that has been done in the industry to improve protection and eliminate outdated password authentication. A company representative said it plans to introduce passwordless authentication across all of its services, including Chrome, ChromeOS and Android.

Microsoft is taking similar steps. Users can now log into Windows by scanning their faces. “The complete transition to a passwordless world starts with consumers making it a natural part of their lives,” emphasized Alex Simons, the company's manager. Apple also wants to introduce the technology. Manager Kurt Knight said their products are designed to be intuitive and efficient, but it's also important to be secure.

Ehrensvärd expects the company to achieve sales of around $200 million this year, which is about 60% more than last year. They are profitable and have raised a total of around $80 million from investors. Yubico was valued at about $730 million in its most recent funding round in 2020. Ehrensvärd was hoping for a boost from new US regulations as US President Joe Biden ordered all federal agencies to convert their security systems. computer in methods that can not be victims of stolen passwords by 2024 At the same time, the manager is also attentive to Europe, according to him, YubiKey can also help with online ID cards. European negotiations are also taking place, but it would be too early to say anything specific about them.

mundophone