Yubico Presents the First Smart Card with User Presence to Combat Super-Spy Malware
PALO ALTO, CA, Feb. 25, 2013 – Yubico, the leading provider of simple, open online identity protection for user presence, today announced that the Yubikey NEO aggressively defends against malware aimed at smart cards. Successfully piloted by leading enterprises, the new product eliminates the risk of card and PIN being remotely hacked by Trojans, which has recently happened to other smart cards used by the Federal government.
Last year, it was revealed that a new Trojan had been used by hackers to compromise smart cards to access sensitive information in military networks and aerospace technology firms. The hackers had adapted the Sykipot Trojan to lift card credentials from compromised systems. Using phishing emails, users were then tricked to then download a key-logger on their machines stealing PINs associated with the smart cards. Once attackers had the authentication codes and associated PINs they gained the same level of trusted access to sensitive networks as the user whose smart card credentials they have stolen.
“To mitigate the risk of computer and mobile malware, Yubico developed the YubiKey NEO, the world’s first smart card featuring USB, NFC and user presence,” said Stina Ehrensvard, CEO & founder, Yubico. “Easy to use and highly secure, the user simply inserts the device into a USB-port, or taps it to an NFC enabled mobile device. As an additional form of authentication, the user then physically touches the device to generate an encrypted pass code that cannot be triggered remotely by malware.”
The rugged, minimally sized YubiKey NEO fits naturally on a keychain. It can be ordered from the Yubico web store for $50. The product will be demonstrated at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, February 25 – 28, OATH Pavilion, Booth #839.
About Yubico
Yubico is the leading provider of simple, open online identity protection. The company’s flagship product, the YubiKey®, uniquely combines driverless USB and NFC authentication hardware with open source software. More than a million users in 100 countries rely on the YubiKey for securing access to networks, computers and online services. Customers range from individual Internet users to e-governments and Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2007, Yubico is privately held with offices in California, Sweden and UK. For more information, please visit yubico.com.
Media Contacts
Ronnie Manning
Yubico Public Relations
619.822.2239
ronnie@yubico.com
