Apple’s NFC Update Enables YubiKey Authentication

Yubico’s NFC-enabled security keys can now be used for contactless authentication with newer iPhones. The change was announced alongside Apple’s big product launches last week, with the company opening up somewhat from its usual closed-ecosystem attitude. Previously, Apple’s iOS mobile operating system supported NFC communications on a read-only basis; but now, it supports the read-and-write capabilities that are required for advanced authentication protocols like FIDO2 and FIDO U2F. The end result for Yubico, as the company notes in a new post on its website, is that its YubiKey 5 NFC and Security Key NFC solutions can now be used with iPhone models 7 or later running on iOS 13.