[clug] Yubikeys - group purchase?

[Miles Goodhew]

Bob,

On 29/04/2009, at 2:36 PM, Robert Edwards wrote:

> Speaking of which, mine just arrived (about 3 weeks after ordering
> them). I got 10, but they all belong to the ANU, who would find it
> very difficult to "on-sell". Initial testing reveals that at least
> two of them work as expected...

	Well, the ANU's welcome to just "give" them to us if it wants.
	I hope the 20% progressive success rate is just a reflection that  
80% have not been tested yet rather than any actual failures.

> I also have an outstanding query with Yubico about solutions for
> PDAs, in particular iPhones and Symbian OS based devices (like my
> Nokia E71). Two possibilities come to mind:
>  - some sort of applet/widget that implements the Yubikey protocol
> 	(open source) in software and just requires some sort of
> 	PIN to unlock

>  - a bluetooth Yubikey that looks like a bluetooth keyboard and
> 	(hopefully) allows multiplexing with whatever other keyboard
> 	widget or device the PDA is currently using
>
> Anyone aware of any extant solutions for such scenarios?

	Yes, I have heard of this, but I'm not completely full of details  
right now. The technology was using the presence of a paired  
bluetooth device (A phone) as being a "dead man's handle for access  
control. If the BT device leaves reception range, the access-enabled  
device (A computer console/display for e.g.) locks. Returning the BT  
device to range need not necessarily restore access, but after a 3- 
factor authentication, the BT device keeps access open.
	Some companies also came-up with an hardware products based on much  
the same principal. For e.g. the Tripp Lite wireless USB proximity  
lock (http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm? 
txtSeriesID=341&EID=&txtModelID=3485) - I recall some other brand  
(like Belkin or Targus) making a snazzy yellow "puck"-like one too.
	Some Scandinavian countries are experimenting using mobile phones as  
small payment enablers a bit like those micro-chipped credit-cards  
like Chipknip (http://www.chipknip.nl/Pages/default.aspx).

M0les.