Yubico has had an impressive first half of the year, with plenty of exciting developments as the company continues to scale. To get the inside scoop, I caught up with Yubico’s CEO, Mattias Danielsson, to chat about the standout moments so far, the current landscape of the cybersecurity industry, and how Yubico is making a difference with its Secure It Forward program.
How was the first half of 2024 for Yubico, and what were the highlights?
The first half of 2024 has been great – I’m really happy with how the team and company are performing. The growing urgency for modern multi-factor authentication (MFA) due to the rise in AI-based phishing and ransomware attacks has really emphasized the need for security solutions like ours. Our bookings have maintained a strong trajectory, increasing by 66% this quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of substantial growth. Net sales (revenue) also rose by 36%, compared to the same quarter last year. The growth in bookings and revenue has been driven by a diverse range of customers across various industries and geographies. We’ve stayed committed to helping our customers create phishing-resistant users, which has helped solidify our leadership in this space.
I believe our ecosystem has been a big part of our success, especially with collaborations like our expanded Yubico FIDO Pre-reg Early Access with Okta, YubiKey Bio Multi-protocol edition with HYPR and our ongoing partnership with Microsoft. These collaborations are all about making the transition to passwordless authentication with YubiKeys smoother for businesses.
We’ve also seen a huge interest in the B2B2C model, with more and more customers offering YubiKeys to their users, which shows just how much demand there is for strong security measures in the mass market. An example of this is interest we’re receiving from industries like financial and critical infrastructures who are looking to ensure they are employing the best security practices for their employees and customers.
Additionally, I am pleased to share that we have expanded where YubiKeys can be purchased, with new ecommerce partners including Best Buy and Staples. For the enterprise, our YubiKey as a Service subscription model continues to gain popularity because of the extra value in flexibility it provides.
One last highlight that I want to ensure I talk about – being named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies of 2024 as well as a Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for 2024 — they are both true testaments to our team’s dedication and the global support for our mission to make the internet safer. As we move into the second half of the year, our focus will continue to be on our customers and expanding our market presence to meet the growing global demand for our security solutions.
What are the key challenges and opportunities in the cybersecurity sector today?
I think we all can see in our daily lives that cybersecurity is more critical than ever. Phishing and ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly severe, leading to proprietary data breaches, brand damage and financial losses for organizations and individuals. This situation underscores the need for modern, secure authentication with YubiKeys. We’re fully committed to providing the most secure and user-friendly security keys, and our recent achievements really reflect that dedication.
Can you tell us about the launch of YubiKey Firmware 5.7?
In May, we rolled out YubiKey Firmware 5.7, which is tailor-made for enterprise needs. This update is all about reinforcing our commitment to secure, simple, and scalable authentication solutions. The new firmware comes with enhanced features like increased PIN complexity, expanded device-bound passkey storage, Yubico’s own cryptographic library and enterprise attestation. These updates make it easier for organizations to adopt passwordless, modern authentication while enabling phishing-resistant users, which helps to create a phishing-resistant enterprise.
How does Yubico support vulnerable populations in need of digital security?
At Yubico, we’ve always been committed to ensuring that security isn’t a barrier for vulnerable populations. We formalized this commitment with our Secure It Forward program in 2021, where we match up to 5% of the number of YubiKeys purchased on Yubico.com for donation to non-profit organizations, election campaigns, journalists, and humanitarian workers worldwide. To date, we have donated over 100,000 YubiKeys in support of these efforts.
We also believe in sustainability, which is why we’ve started ‘upcycling’ YubiKeys that might have slight cosmetic blemishes from manufacturing. These fully functional keys are used to support our Secure It Forward program, making sure they don’t go to waste. It’s all about helping those who need it most by providing them with the tools to prevent account takeovers and enhance their digital security.
This year, we’re especially focused on supporting election security through our long term partnership with Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC). So far, we’ve donated over $1.3 million worth of YubiKeys to help secure hundreds of bipartisan campaigns and their staff across the country.
Our goal is to donate an additional 75,000 YubiKeys to those in need over the next two years through our Secure It Forward program.
Anything else you want to make sure people know about Yubico?
We’re really proud of our success so far this year, and we owe a lot of it to our Yubico team, customers, partners, and investors for their continued support. Giving back with our philanthropic and sustainability efforts are just as important to our mission as our business goals, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build on this success.
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