• Contact Sales
  • Resellers
  • Support
Yubico Header Text LogoYubico Header Text Logo
Why Yubicoexpand_more
Why Yubico
  • Enterprises
  • SMBs
  • Individuals
  • Developers
  • Careers
  • Partner programs
  • Affiliate program
  • Contact Sales
  • Events
  • Press room
  • Yubico Blog
  • Yubico Executive Connect
  • About us
  • The team
  • Investors
  • Innovation history
  • Secure it Forward
Man holding YubiKey
Easy-to-use, secure authentication

With YubiKey there’s no tradeoff between great security and usability

Why YubiKey
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Google headquarters
Proven at scale at Google

Google defends against account takeovers and reduces IT costs

Google Case Study
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Hand holding YubiKey behind Apple iPhone
Protecting vulnerable organizations

Secure it Forward: One YubiKey donated for every 20 sold

Learn about Secure it Forward
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Productsexpand_more
All products
  • YubiKey 5 Series
  • YubiKey 5 FIPS Series
  • YubiKey Bio Series
  • Security Key Series
  • YubiKey 5 CSPN Series
  • YubiHSM 2 & YubiHSM 2 FIPS
  • YubiEnterprise Subscription
  • YubiEnterprise Delivery
  • Yubico Authenticator
  • Computer login tools
  • Software Development Toolkits
  • YubiCloud
  • Using YubiKey is easy
  • Find the right YubiKey
  • Works with YubiKey
  • Compare YubiKeys
Woman holding YubiKey 5ci
One key for hundreds of apps and services

YubiKey works out-of-the-box and has no client software or battery

Yubico protects you
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
See YubiKeys as a Service
YubiEnterprise Subscription delivers scale and savings

Gain a future-proofed solution and faster MFA rollouts

See YubiKeys as a Service
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Solutionsexpand_more
Solutions overview
  • Zero Trust
  • Executive Order OMB M-22-09
  • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Passwordless
  • Compliance
  • Cyber Insurance
  • Secure supply chain
  • Critical infrastructure
  • Hybrid & remote workers
  • Secure privileged users
  • Mobile restricted environments
  • Call centers
  • Shared workstations
  • Microsoft ecosystem
  • Salesforce workspace
  • IAM solutions
  • AWS environment
  • HYPR experience
Hand holding YubiKey behind Apple iPhone
The Bridge to Passwordless

Begin the journey to make your organization passwordless

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Lock on a laptop
Accelerate your Zero Trust Strategy

7 best strong authentication practices to jumpstart your Zero Trust program

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Government building
Federal cybersecurity requirements

See guidance for CIOs and leaders to prepare for the modern cyber threat era

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Industriesexpand_more
Industries overview
  • High tech
  • Federal government
  • Federal systems integrators
  • State & local government
  • Education
  • Financial services
  • Elections & campaigns
  • Retail & hospitality
  • Telecommunications
  • Healthcare
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Energy & natural resources
  • Manufacturing
man working a manufacturing line
Manufacturing and supply chain security

Authentication best practices for manufacturing using highest-assurance security

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Person looking at a computer with a government building showing
Phishing-resistant MFA: Fact vs. Fiction

Meet requirements for phishing-resistant MFA in OMB M-22-09 guidelines

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Remote workers at a wind farm
Secure energy and natural resources from cyber threats

Best practices for phishing-resistant MFA to safeguard your critical infrastructure

Get the white paper
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Resourcesexpand_more
All resources
  • Yubico Blog
  • Cybersecurity glossary
  • Authentication standards
  • Resource library
  • Developer program
  • Product briefs
  • Solution briefs
  • Case studies
  • Get a pilot started
  • White papers and reports
  • Webinars
Laptop with a YubiKey inserted
BeyondTrust: secured with a subscription

A leader in Privileged Access Management simplifies YubiKey deployment

How they optimized ROI
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
S&P Global Market Intelligence report: old habits die hard

Only 46% of respondents protect their applications with MFA. How about you?

Read the report
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Considering Passkeys for your Enterprise?

Learn how to avoid the common pitfalls of synced passkeys

Get the Ebook
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Supportexpand_more
Support home
  • Find the right YubiKey
  • Set up your YubiKey
  • Downloads
  • Product documentation
  • Support articles
  • Support Services
  • Professional Services
  • YubiEnterprise Subscription
  • Works with YubiKey Program
  • Buying and shipping information
  • Security advisories
  • Help center
YubiKeys in lots of form factors
How to set up your YubiKey

Follow our guided tutorials to start protecting your favorite services

Set up your YubiKey
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
YubiKey on a keychain plugged into a laptop
Find the best YubiKey for your needs

Take the guided quiz and see which YubiKey best fits your or your businesses needs

Take the quiz
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
Worker with a calculator and laptop with a spreadsheet
Accelerate your YubiKey deployment

Technical and operational guidance for your YubiKey implementation and rollout

Professional Services
  • FIDO2
  • passwordless
  • WebAuthn
  • YubiKey
SubscribeStore
  • Home » Blog » Top five pitfalls companies should avoid when rolling out a passwordless strategy

    Top five pitfalls companies should avoid when rolling out a passwordless strategy

    Jeff Olives

    Jeff Olives

    June 28, 2021
    4 minute read
    Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via Email

    Given the number of breaches in the news today where passwords were at the root of the problem, many companies are now exploring the benefits of a secure passwordless future. Secure passwordless logins not only bring cost efficiencies and a more frictionless user login experience into the organization, but deliver the security that is necessary in the post-pandemic world, when many millions of workers may continue working remotely.

    Some companies may have finished with planning their passwordless strategy, and are ready to pull the lever on an implementation. The customers we work with get the message: going passwordless is more of a journey than a destination. And even if it’s a long road, to make the journey smooth you’ll want to make sure you don’t fall into any deep potholes along the way.

    No customer’s road to passwordless is going to be the same — your implementation could involve a smart card passwordless approach, a FIDO2/WebAuthn passwordless approach, or a hybrid approach that combines both approaches for different business needs. No matter what road you take, though, there are some common pitfalls you can avoid if you’re looking out for them:

    Pitfalls to avoid on your passwordless strategy roadmap

    • The “look, I can see the end of the road!” syndrome. Security professionals might be used to the traditional way of thinking about an implementation — here’s a product, let’s map out a plan, implement it, and then sort out the bugs. But passwordless can involve several products, installed at different times with different levels of users. The journey to passwordless isn’t always a short road.  There may be a part of the road to passwordless that bends around the next mountain. You can’t necessarily see the entire road, but you can be prepared for whatever is coming around the bend. It’s OK to start with addressing the most important and critical use cases and user populations and then build on your passwordless implementation as you go.
    • Planning in a silo. Passwordless is not just an IT implementation. It should involve all corners of the company because it can represent a significant change in company culture and processes. If a plan is written narrowly or only by a single department, it’s more likely to fail once it has to be communicated to users, the HR department and the C-suite. The key is to take a holistic approach and bring all key stakeholders along on the journey from the beginning for maximum user adoption, which is what ultimately enhances the security posture of the overall organization.
    • Skip the pilot, we don’t have enough time! Sometimes there’s a real urgency on projects, especially if it’s a response to a breach or another emergency. But we don’t recommend skipping the proof-of-concept and pilot phases of your project, because they can be extremely helpful in mapping out where you’re headed. You can plan for a single pilot, or you may want to deploy several pilots targeting different user groups to measure readiness before a broader rollout to all users.
      Typically you can take a few steps during proof of concept before you launch the pilot, including: 
      • Validate the intended passwordless implementation work as expected with the essential systems, use cases, and users at the earliest phase. 
      • Set up a testing environment that demonstrates end-to-end connectivity between existing systems and authentication technology for key users/user groups. 
      • Verify that your defined success criteria can be met.
    • Has anyone communicated with the users? When technical teams are leading a project,  user communication and training often get overlooked. The communications/training team can help by planning live or virtual events that build anticipation and a greater understanding of the new solutions and processes.
    • We can go solo on this implementation. You’ve heard the old adage about getting something done fast, cheap and good? Pick only two, right? Ideally, you want all three (or something close to it) and finding the right professional services as you drive down the road to passwordless may get you closer to that ideal. This is especially true if you are on a tight deadline — industry expertise from an outside source can help accelerate your passwordless journey. 

    Read Yubico’s Bridge to Passwordless series to learn more about how to plan and execute a passwordless strategy.

    Share this article:

    Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via Email

    Recommended Posts

    • Q&A with CEO Mattias Danielsson: Yubico’s next stage of growth as a public company and what investors can expect

      Today marks an exciting, historic day in Yubico’s history: the company is now publicly traded under the ticker symbol YUBICO on Nasdaq First Growth North Market in Stockholm. As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly through increasingly sophisticated attacks like phishing, the need for phishing-resistant MFA with the YubiKey are at an all-time […]

      Read more
      • Investors
      • Q&A
      • thought leadership
    • Five foundational cybersecurity controls to mitigate 90% of breaches

      During my 16 years in the cybersecurity industry, and after discussions with numerous CISOs and cyber security experts, they all agree that there are five easy steps all organizations can take to mitigate over 90% of all cyber breaches1.  Just like cars were not initially designed for safety, the internet was not designed for security. […]

      Read more
      • best practice guide
    • Okta + Yubico: Better together

      Modern cybersecurity needs to be phishing-resistant, but it also needs to incorporate a great user experience for employees, IT teams and customers. We know traditional authentication methods are perceived as user-friendly, but they are not secure and vulnerable to most attacks  – in fact, 59% of people still rely on username and password to authenticate […]

      Read more
      • Okta
      • Partner Program
    • Works with YubiKey Spotlight: How Yubico works with industry leaders who share the commitment to strong authentication

      As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly in the form of more sophisticated attacks like phishing and ransomware, the need for industry collaborations and partnerships are more critical than ever to help businesses and consumers stay secure online. We first launched the Works with YubiKey (WWYK) program in 2018 with this in mind […]

      Read more
      • Works with YubiKey
      • wwyk
Yubico Text LogoYubico Text Logo
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • GitHub
  • Product finder quiz
  • Find set-up guides
  • Buy online
  • Contact sales
  • Get Yubico updates
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Press room
  • About us
  • Investors
  • Partner programs
  • Affiliate program
  • YubiKey 5 Series
  • YubiKey 5 FIPS Series
  • YubiKey Bio Series
  • Security Key Series
  • YubiKey 5 CSPN Series
  • YubiHSM 2 & YubiHSM 2 FIPS
  • Yubico Authenticator
  • Zero Trust
  • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Passwordless
  • Cyber insurance
  • More solutions
  • Industries overview
  • Yubico blog
  • Resource library
  • Cybersecurity glossary
  • Authentication standards
  • Developer program
  • Works with YubiKey
  • Help center
  • Downloads
  • Product documentation
  • Support Services
  • Professional Services
  • Contact support
Yubico © 2023 All Rights Reserved.
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies
  • Legal
  • Privacy
  • Patents
  • Terms of use
  • Trust