Yubico this week announced the general availability of YubiKey Bio Series, its first security key to support biometric authentication on desktop computers.
Featuring support for the FIDO2/WebAuthn and U2F protocols, YubiKey Bio Series leverages fingerprint recognition to enable users to securely log in to their accounts using a second factor or without passwords at all.
The new security keys support the biometric enrollment and management features that have been implemented in modern platforms and operating systems.
According to Yubico, the devices have a three chip architecture and they store the biometric fingerprint material in a separate secure element, to ensure increased protection from physical attacks.
With the new YubiKey Bio, users can log in to desktop applications and services that support FIDO protocols, the company says. Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory, Citrix Workspace, GitHub, Duo, IBM Security Verify, as well as Okta and Ping Identity are supported out-of-the-box.
The new YubiKey Bio Series, Yubico says, meets stringent hardware security key requirements, and it works cross platform (Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS) and cross browser (Chromium-based browsers), courtesy of support for WebAuthn. YubiKey Bio is available in USB-A and USB-C form factors, allows users to easily switch devices, supports security key PINs (where biometrics cannot be used), and is supported by the Yubico Authenticator for Desktop app on desktop.
“With the launch of the YubiKey Bio Series, we are proud to raise the standard for biometric security keys, enabling simple and strong passwordless authentication for our enterprise customers and everyday YubiKey users,” said Stina Ehrensvärd, CEO and co-founder of Yubico.
The YubiKey Bio is now available at $80 for the USB-A form-factor and $85 for the USB-C form-factor.
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