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Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
https://forum.yubico.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1275		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  tiker [ Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
I'm somewhat confused over the YubiKey NEO and am looking for some clarifications.

Several articles such as this one refer to the YubiKey NEO as a new device coming this year but I thought the YubiKey NEO already exists.

Is the YubiKey NEO with U2F different than the existing YubiKey NEO devices available today? If so, how are they different?

Thanks.
Author:  Tom [ Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
Hello,

The Yubikey NEO is already available for sale on https://store.yubico.com

The U2F protocol will be supported by the NEO only when it will be finalized. The U2F is currently developed under the FIDO alliance working group.

We do not have an ETA for when this is going to happen.
Author:  SparkyXI [ Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
Tom wrote:
Hello,

The Yubikey NEO is already available for sale on https://store.yubico.com

The U2F protocol will be supported by the NEO only when it will be finalized. The U2F is currently developed under the FIDO alliance working group.

We do not have an ETA for when this is going to happen.


I think the confusion lies in the multiple press releases regarding the NEO and FIDO compliance. For example:

Quote:
"The YubiKey NEO is a product extension of the YubiKey family, used by millions of users in over 120 countries, and is the first authentication device to be Universal Second Factor (U2F) FIDO Ready™..." "...The YubiKey NEO integrates with FIDO's open standards to provide you full ownership and security of your identity across all online services."

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/yubico-introduces-industrys-first-fido-ready-universal-2nd-factor-authentication-device-1866207.htm


Wordsmanship indeed.

The press releases (and most of the info on the Yubico site) are misleading for the fact that they do a great job touting the features and functionality of the NEO with U2F, but they go just far enough without actually disclosing that the U2F standard is not yet finalized, and the current hardware/firmware iteration may or may not be compliant.

From a marketing standpoint, I can understand the reasoning here: It's CES, and Yubico wants to create buzz around the NEO and sell the most units. However, I think that if everyone buys a NEO (like I did), only to find that it ends up not being FIDO compatible (hardware/firmware), you're only shooting yourselves in the foot.

Now, if Yubico is confident that the product as sold today will be compliant, I understand the risk.

Just my two cents.
Author:  tiker [ Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
I'm looking at the various statements I've read.

From http://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey- ... y-neo-u2f/
Quote:
Yubico expects to have U2F compliant YubiKey NEOs available for the public during 2014.


Then Tom's reply:
Tom wrote:
The U2F protocol will be supported by the NEO only when it will be finalized. The U2F is currently developed under the FIDO alliance working group.

We do not have an ETA for when this is going to happen.


But then when you look at the YubiKey Neo description from the store ( https://store.yubico.com/store/catalog/ ... ucts_id=72 ) it is already advertised as supported.
Quote:
Emits One Time Passwords (OTP) through both NFC (Near Field Communication) and USB interfaces
Mobile authentication through NFC contactless technology (NDEF type 4), works with Android, RIM, Windows Phone, Symbian
Featuring Mifare Classic, for legacy physical access control systems
Common Criteria certified bank grade authentication ICs
CCID compliant USB token, including secure element and JavaCard
Current version limited to an experimental OpenPGP applet
First authentication device to comply with Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) requirements



I do want to get a YubiKey NEO at some point but I don't want to buy it now knowing that a new feature may not be supported by today's purchase. Since the store already lists U2F as a feature, yet news articles are saying Spring 2014 and now Tom saying no ETA, how will I know when the best time is to purchase one of these?
Author:  SparkyXI [ Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
Correct - this is where the confusion stems from.
Author:  geoff [ Sun Jan 12, 2014 10:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Clarification about YubiKey NEO with U2F
What is the liklihood that U2F will be an applet that can be installed on an existing NEO? I'd like to buy a NEO now, but if it won't eventually support U2F I'll wait.
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