Privacy

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Are hardware security keys worth it? If so, which to pick? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 6 months ago by sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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This isn't strictly a privacy question as a security one, so I'm asking this in the context of individuals, not organizations.

I currently use OTP 2FA everywhere I can, though some services I use support hardware security keys like the Yubikey. Getting a hardware key may be slightly more convenient since I wouldn't need to type anything in but could just press a button, but there's added risk with losing the key (I can easily backup OTP configs).

Do any of you use hardware security keys? If so, do you have a good argument in favor or against specific keys? (e.g. Yubikey, Nitrokey, etc)

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[–] OminousOrange@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Right, so fingerprint on everything wouldn't be the best practice, because it's all in one category and everything can be unlocked by a compromise of that one thing.

That's a good point. I might look at removing that from my totp app and using a passcode instead.

[–] solrize@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Yeah and if your fingerprint is compromised, you can't update it.

I worry most about the phone, since they get stolen all the time and they are full of software vulnerabilities. For my own phone I'm hoping to use a token to unlock. So that's two objects from one category but the token should be harder to steal, if the thief even knows about it.

I expect high security stuff like banking ops is done only from on-premises terminals and not from someone's phone. I will try to ask my buddies in that field.

Physical location can be an auth factor too: you could have a token permanently installed at your desk, so it activated only when you are there.

You will probably like the book "Security Engineering" by Ross Anderson if you're not already familiar with it. PDFs of the full 2nd edition and part of the 3rd are here:

https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/book.html