A qualitative study on usability and acceptability of Yubico security key

Individual concerns about account takeover and subversion are well-documented. Surveys indicate that concerns for the privacy and security of online accounts are widely shared. Adopting Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is an action that individuals can take to secure their own accounts, including many popular consumer-facing services. Given that, why is two-factor hardware not more widely adopted? What usability and acceptability factors drive the adoption, or lack of adoption of 2FA in the form of trusted hardware? Passwords are inherently misaligned with human cognition, and hardware keys designed for ease of use are readily available in the marketplace. Yet passwords remain the dominant online authentication method. In order to better understand relevant issues driving or impinging adoption of Two-Factor Authentication, we implemented a two-phase study of the Yubico FIDO U2F security key.