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 sets new global standards for simple and secure access to computers, mobile devices, servers, and internet accounts.
The company’s core invention, the YubiKey, delivers strong hardware protection, with a simple touch, across any number of IT systems and online services. The YubiHSM, Yubico’s ultra-portable hardware security module, protects sensitive data stored in servers.
Yubico is a leading contributor to the FIDO2, WebAuthn, and FIDO Universal 2nd Factor open authentication standards, and the company’s technology is deployed and loved by 9 of the top 10 internet brands and by millions of users in 160 countries.
Founded in 2007, Yubico is privately held, with offices in Sweden, UK, Germany, USA, Australia, and Singapore. For more information: www.yubico.com.
