Yubico just hosted customers, partners, and industry leaders for our inaugural flagship event, YubiNation 2026, in San Francisco. Across dozens of sessions and candid discussions, one truth stood out: the future of digital trust will not be shaped by technology alone, but by the community putting it to work.
Hearing directly from customers, partners, and industry leaders about the real-world impact on their people and systems delivered an invaluable takeaway: when we solve identity together, the entire digital ecosystem becomes more resilient.
Here are the four key themes our community brought to light.
1. Anchoring AI in verified human intent
As AI shifts from answering prompts to taking autonomous actions, trust must be redefined. When an AI agent executes a workflow, who authorized it, and who is accountable? Human-in-the-loop authorization is what connects strong digital identity, verified human intent, and responsible action.
- OpenAI talked about using YubiKeys for all employees, with new hires being given 2 YubiKeys on Day 1. All employees rely on hardware keys to not only authenticate themselves, but authorize high assurance actions being performed on their behalf. In addition, OpenAI extends the same high security for cyberdefenders as a pre-requisite for access to their most powerful AI Models.
- Leaders from IBM, Ping Identity, Okta and Silverfort reiterated that securing AI requires human-in-the-loop authorization – binding verified human intent to automated action.
- HYPR, CLEAR and Nametag demonstrated practical frameworks for trusted identity verification in an operating environment increasingly challenged by deepfakes and generative manipulation.
2. Identity is a strategic business driver
Identity is now the baseline trust layer for every customer and partner relationship.
- Leaders from Capital One, KeyBank, Fifth Third Bank and Vanguard compared notes for deploying phishing-resistant passkeys at enterprise scale without introducing user friction.
- T-Mobile explained how rolling out YubiKeys across the organization – including employees, vendors and retail stores – turned security into business value.
- Experts from Marsh McLennan, Arthur J. Gallagher and Venable outlined how verifiable phishing resistance is directly influencing cyber insurance terms and coverage, making strong identity an executive-level priority.
When CFOs, boards and underwriters ask about reducing risk for the business, security becomes a strategic differentiator.
3. Scaling passkeys and cyber resilience without friction
Security models fail when adoption stalls, and rollouts stall when user experience suffers.
- CERN, Merck KGaA and Schneider Electric shared identity best practices that have improved enterprise cyber resilience.
- Humana, Hyatt and Figma discussed scaling passkey deployments across global workforces, proving that passwordless transitions succeed when employee experience is treated as a core design requirement.
The consensus? Passkey adoption at scale is now easier than ever, with security and operational benefits to organizations and its users.
4. Shifting post-quantum cryptography from theory to execution
Quantum readiness can no longer wait for a future mandate; organizations must build cryptographic agility today. As outlined by Professor Mosca, if the sum of the security shelf life of the data protected by the current cryptographic algorithm and the time required to migrate to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) exceeds the estimated time until a cryptographically relevant quantum computer becomes available, then we are too late and our systems will be at risk.
- Jaya Baloo (COO & CISO at AISLE) framed quantum safety as an urgent operational challenge across people, devices, and workloads- not merely an academic cryptography problem.
- Various panels featuring AWS, 1Password, Versasec, Intercede, and Axiad reinforced the need for hybrid migration strategies, automated credential management, and comprehensive cryptographic inventory audits over guesswork.
The shared message: start planning now, conduct an inventory audit, and build for agility, moving in steps.
Yubico turns shared insights into innovation
Hardware authentication remains the anchor of digital identity, but the broader mandate involves managing the entire identity lifecycle, keeping humans anchored to AI decisions, and engineering quantum-resilient infrastructure.
To address these frontiers, Yubico unveiled two major milestones at YubiNation:
- YubiID (Limited Early Access): A solution designed to carry verifiable trust across the complete identity lifecycle – from initial onboarding to account recovery.
- PQC-Ready YubiKey (Public Beta): Hardware engineered to help organizations operationalize post-quantum defenses without disrupting existing day-to-day workflows.
If you want a hand in shaping the future of digital trust, apply to the PQC-ready YubiKey beta program, or join the YubiID Design Partner program.
Building the future of trust together
The future of digital trust isn’t built by any one company or technology. It’s shaped by a community of innovators, practitioners, and partners who challenge conventional thinking, share expertise, and inspire what comes next. From the perspectives shared by Yubico Co-Founder, and SIROS Founder, Stina Ehrensvaard, to the collective insights of our valued customers and partners, YubiNation reinforced a powerful truth: trust is something the ecosystem builds together. And it is that trust that creates the foundation for the innovations of tomorrow.
To our customers, partners, and speakers who joined us, shared insights, and pushed us forward: thank you. Your collaboration directly guides what we build next.
Keynote session recordings will be available on Yubico.com shortly.
