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Yubico has reported a 265 per cent return on investment and a 99.99 per cent reduction in breach-related risk exposure through the deployment of its YubiKey hardware-based authentication products, based on findings from a Forrester Consulting study.
The Total Economic Impact study, commissioned by Yubico, assessed benefits across global organisations with more than 5,000 employees that replaced traditional multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods with YubiKeys.
The three-year net present value was estimated at $5.3 million, with total benefits amounting to $7.3 million, driven by faster user authentication, lower help desk costs and improved security posture.
Traditional MFA No Longer Sufficient
The study highlights growing concerns about the limits of traditional MFA in defending against social engineering and AI-driven threats, including deepfakes and MFA bypass techniques.
Ronnie Manning, Chief Brand Advocate at Yubico, said phishing-resistant authentication is becoming critical to modern cyber defence strategies.
“As AI-driven threats make traditional authentication methods increasingly vulnerable, this Forrester study confirms for us that phishing-resistant MFA is no longer optional,” Manning said.
“It is now a cornerstone to cyber resilience and a business accelerator. YubiKeys not only safeguard the enterprise against rising phishing threats, but actually return time to employees to focus on business-critical tasks and reduce the burden on security and IT teams.”
Key Findings Across Financial And Operational Metrics
The composite organisation model in the study showed measurable benefits in four major areas:
• Strengthened Security ($1.6M) – Elimination of phishing-related credential theft significantly reduced breach risks.
• Enhanced End-User Experience ($2.2M) – Authentication was 80 per cent faster than legacy MFA. Simpler password policies saved users an average of 30 minutes per quarterly update.
• Operational Efficiency ($1.7M) – Savings included $912,000 from avoided investigations, $476,000 from reduced help desk calls and $321,000 from legacy MFA decommissioning.
• Business Growth ($1.9M) – Stronger security helped win new business by meeting customer assurance and compliance requirements.
A director of IT and cybersecurity from the public sector said, “YubiKeys are a fiscally responsible way to increase your cybersecurity posture.”
A cybersecurity manager at a telecom firm added, “Yubico is easy to work with. They had the ability to deliver at the scale and velocity we needed.”
Path To Zero Trust And Passwordless Authentication
The study also positioned YubiKeys as a foundational component in zero trust architectures. The devices support multiple authentication protocols including FIDO2/WebAuthn, smart cards (PIV) and OTP, allowing organisations to secure both modern and legacy environments.
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“Our CEO stated that we are going to be 100 per cent phishing resistant and passwordless,” said a Principal Identity Engineer from a technology firm interviewed in the report. “The only solution that fit the bill was YubiKeys.”
Enterprise Services Expand Access And Speed Up Deployment
To simplify rollout, Yubico offers YubiKey as a Service, a subscription-based model that shifts upfront capital costs to operational spending.
The service includes a self-service ordering feature that lets users request devices directly, along with global fulfilment and support for distributed workforces.
More information, including the full study, is available, here.
Last Updated on February 4, 2026 by Nick Ross
