A hardware security key is a dedicated physical authenticator — typically a USB, NFC, or Bluetooth device — that stores cryptographic keys and performs origin-bound public-key challenge responses to prove possession of a second factor. By keeping private keys in tamper-resistant hardware and signing only challenges scoped to the legitimate web origin, it provides strong resistance to phishing, credential replay, and man-in-the-middle attacks that defeat one-time-password methods. Hardware keys implement open standards such as FIDO2 and U2F and are a core enabler of passwordless and passkey-based authentication.
Overview
- Hardware Security Key sits within the broader category of Multi-Factor Authentication, which it specialises.
- It connects to a network of 12 related classes across the knowledge graph, anchoring edges that previously pointed to an undefined node.
Key aspects
- hasPart: YubiKey
- uses: Public Key Cryptography
- uses: Security Token
- requires: Authentication
- implements: FIDO2
- implements: WebAuthn
- implements: U2F
Mechanisms
- Hardware Security Key operates through its constituent parts and dependencies, integrating with adjacent systems to deliver its function within security.
Applications
- Applied to advance Passkey.
- Applied to advance Phishing Resistance.