This week, Yubico announced the YubiKey 5Ci for $70, the first security key in the world to support not only USB-C but also Lightning.That means this product can be used with devices running iOS, Android, macOS and Windows.
The YubiKey 5Ci supports several authentication protocols at once, including FIDO2 and WebAuthn, FIDO U2F, OTP (one-time password), PIV (Personal Identity Verification) and OpenPGP.
Thanks to USB-C, the YubiKey 5Ci is compatible with nearly all computers and smartphones (except the USB-C iPad Pro, which is not currently supported). Lightning, in turn, will be useful to users of Apple devices.
Users of iOS who want to work with the YubiKey 5Ci should keep in mind that the hardware key does not support everything. However, apps such as LastPass, 1Password, Dashlane, Bitwarden, Idaptive and Okta, as well as access to certain services, can be used through the Brave browser (Bitbucket, Login.gov, GitHub and Twitter).
iOS app developers who want to add YubiKey 5Ci support to their app can use the Yubico Mobile SDK for iOS. Dropbox, Keeper Security, SecMaker and other developers should be taking care of this very soon.
“The YubiKey 5Ci fills a critical gap in the mobile authentication ecosystem. It is the first iOS security key on the market that offers simple, reliable authentication via Lightning, while providing a unified experience across other mobile, desktop and laptop devices,” write the Yubico developers.
Yubico Developers
