If you’ve been looking for a way to further improve security when it comes to managing all of your online accounts, and you happen to be an iPhone user, then you need to check out this tiny security key.
Called the YubiKey 5Ci and made by Yubico, this is the world’s first iPhone- and iPad-ready security key that can deliver “strong hardware-backed authentication” over a Lightning connection. The tiny dongle also features USB-C connectivity that will let you use it on Mac, Windows, and Android devices (but not iPad Pro).
What the 5Ci does is deliver support for multi-factor (MFA), two-factor (2FA), and single-factor passwordless authentication to iPhone. The device will work directly with several password managers and single sign-on tools, including 1Password, LastPass, DashLane, Bitwarden, Idaptive, and Okta. Also, the gadget will work with the Brave browser to provide quick login to several apps, including GitHub and Twitter.
The security key, which costs $70, supports a variety of standards for passwordless authentication, including FIDO2, WebAuthn, FIDO U2F, OTP (one-time-password), PIV (Smart Card), and OpenPGP. But to use it with certain apps, developers will have to integrate the Yubico Mobile SDK for iOS.
To use the 5Ci, all you need to do is plug it into an iPhone, Android phone, or computer, and then tap it to log into supported apps. The key doesn’t require a battery or internet connectivity to operate and can be easily added to your keyring. It’s crucial, of course, that you don’t lose the key, and that you set up a backup for it, whether it’s through an authenticator app, or a secondary 5Ci key. The YubiKey 5Ci is available now at Yubico.com.
