Yubico YubiKeys Review
May 14, 2024
Yubico YubiKeys Review
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Modules Used
- Security Key Series
Overall Satisfaction with Yubico YubiKeys
So Yubico YubiKeys have been essential for protecting the most critical accounts at my company, especially ones that we just can't afford for them to get compromised. So knowing that we can use it as a passkey and go passwordless or use it for two-factor authentication has been pretty critical to securing accounts and also gives us a lot of peace of mind knowing that we're not sharing two-factor authentication codes. Trying to sync that between vaults, knowing that there's just one hardware solution. If someone loses their key, we can just remove it from the account. Gives a lot more peace of mind than some of the other two-factor options.
- I would say very simple to use. It's something that everyone can figure out. Just plug it in, press the little button, and you're good to go.
- I would say the fact that it is easy to manage an account so you can label each key so you can have one for each employee. If that employee notifies you that they lost it or they're no longer with the company, you just go and remove it.
- I think one thing I like as well is that somebody has to be at the device to initiate the key. So even if you leave it plugged into your device, you walk away somehow a hacker gets remote access, they're moving the mouse around, they try to go to an account. Even if your Yubico YubiKeys is plugged in, unless you're there to press it and physically give it input, it's still not going to send the credentials. So that's a big sell for me.
- As easy as the management is, it still can feel a little bit overwhelming as you add more and more keys and more team members. And there's also a bit of reliance on trusting that team member to tell you, "Hey, I lost the key." Because what happens if they lose it? They don't tell you someone gets a hold of it, then all of a sudden they have the physical key into the account where if you're using something that's a password solution, like syncing 2FA codes with a password manager, you need the knowledge of what the master password to get into the vault. So unless that employee tells someone which they could choose to do, but assuming they don't, it's a little bit more difficult in my mind to gain access that way instead of just stealing someone's key if they get pickpocketed or just so many ways that potentially that key could get in the wrong person's hands.
- I would say being the founder of my company, I sleep better at night with Yubico YubiKeys. There's one account in particular for what we do that's mission-critical and would devastate the whole company if it got compromised. So I know that before having a physical hardware key, I was just always concerned, "what if I get SIM swapped or what if someone finds some kind of back door into the account?" And since getting Yubico YubiKeys, there's just so much more peace of mind that the account's protected. I know where the key is myself and I really like that way of doing security.
It's definitely increased security and lowered risk as well. So I mean pretty straightforward for us.
I would say that some of our users have been excited about it. "Oh yes, this is so cool." Some have definitely been hesitant. It's kind of more of a bother to them to have to keep track of this thing and learn something new. But I think once everyone sees how easy it is to use and simple, just plug it in, and tap it. They're much more receptive to it after that.
I have tested the Google Titan Keys. I found Yubico YubiKeys to be a bit more durable and last longer. I've already had a few Google Titan Keys that have just gone out. They just stopped working. So the Yubico YubiKeys are a bit more lightweight and easier to fit on a key ring. They last longer. I've never had one die on me. So definitely, just a bit better in that sense.
Do you think Yubico YubiKeys delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Yubico YubiKeys's feature set?
Yes
Did Yubico YubiKeys live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Yubico YubiKeys go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Yubico YubiKeys again?
Yes