How to Use an NFC Security Key with Your Mobile Phone

Without a doubt, it is one of the great wishes of most mobile users, to be able to protect in the most effective way their data and accounts of the different platforms that we use every day from our phone. We all fear identity theft or data theft. And having a security key compatible with our mobile can be something key.

Little by little, security keys are gaining prominence in the market, although they are still largely unknown to most mobile users. But there are many joys that they can give us in the field of security with our mobiles.

Why do we need one of these keys?

FIDO security keys have become the most popular on the market, they are available from different manufacturers, and although at first most were exclusively for personal computers with a USB port, new versions have appeared that also have NFC connectivity. , which allows them to keep our mobiles safe with this wireless connectivity. Its use is very simple, but it can perfectly represent the difference between a cybercriminal can take over our account data or not.

Llave de seguridad

The method of getting hold of other people’s accounts and their data by hackers has not changed much over the years, but new tools have appeared that allow us to protect ourselves from these attacks. Basically hackers usually look for user and password combinations to be able to enter our accounts and eliminate any type of additional security layer. The key lies in the two-step verification that most online platforms have, and that is the key to preventing someone who has both our username and password from being able to get hold of our account.

llave seguridad NFC móvil

That is where the security keys come into play, because without their physical possession hackers cannot access our account , it is impossible for them to do so, since a physical verification method comes into play in which only we can verify our identity . And of course, with more and more mobile phones compatible with NFC connectivity, keys with this type of connection are ideal to be used with our terminals to protect our accounts easily.

What is the FIDO standard?

The FIDO system (Fast Identity Online) is an online identity authentication method that seeks to increase the security of transactions on the network. A standard that has been created to eliminate traditional passwords, and therefore offer a more secure way to protect accounts, and that is not accessible to hackers. The idea is that with this standard, passwords can be replaced by more secure biometric data, which at the same time are encrypted, and therefore cannot be intercepted.

Fido Alliance

If we use a platform compatible with this standard, it will generate pairs of cryptographic keys, which only we will be able to match, and not hackers. Since a copy of the key is stored on the server of that online service, and the other keys are physically stored on that FIDO key that we have, so it is impossible for the hacker to get hold of the information if the key in your hands.

What security key do I buy?

There are not too many manufacturers on the market that offer us this type of keys, but today we can mainly buy keys from two or three manufacturers. One of them is Google, since the firm has the Titan keys , a range of this type of security keys that we can use with the mobile. Although without a doubt the one that offers the most variety of models is Yubico . One of the most interesting keys for our mobile is the Yubico Security Key NFC, and it can be a good starting point to get started in this method of making our mobile phones more secure.

llave seguridad NFC móvil

We can buy the Amazon today, and other similar models. Although if we are going to use it with the mobile we must always make sure that it has NFC connectivity, since otherwise we will not be able to use it so easily through the USB connector, unless we have an adapter, but without a doubt the comfortable thing is to use it through the wireless connectivity.

How do we configure the security key?

Well, it all depends on the service we want to protect with this two-step authentication method. One of the most common for example is Google . We can protect our account, and therefore the content of our mobile with one of these security keys. For this, what we must do is use this key as the two-step authentication method. In order to use it with the mobile, we need this unlocking method to be chosen in the account settings, for example in the following way.

  • Login to your Google account
  • Access the “Security” section
  • Click on “Two-step verification”
  • Choose the “Security key” method
  • Connect the wash to your computer via the USB port
  • Set this key as a two-step identification method

llave seguridad NFC móvil

Once configured, it will appear as the default method of identification in our account, and depending on the data we want to access, we will have to use one method or another of identification. For example, if we want to enter to make changes to our Google account or another compatible one from the PC, we will have to insert the key into the USB port and press the touch button on the key. But in the event that we want to access the information from the phone itself, either on Google or on another compatible platform, it will be enough to pass the key on the back of the phone , where the NFC antenna is located, to verify our identity.

In this way we will change the SMS messages or calls from the service provider due to the proximity of the security key. Something that multiplies the security of our accounts , as it is an access method impossible for hackers to use, except in the unlikely event that they are physically secured with the security key. A method that at the moment is not compatible with as many platforms as we would like, but that is gradually gaining popularity.