This was a process worthy of its own novel, with Amazon requiring an interesting amount of paperwork from before he was able to proceed. This follows the same testing and programming path that advocated for in his Tools of the Trade series.įrom there just needed to get set up with Amazon. He was able to cut a significant amount of time off of the programming step by using the computed values with a programming jig he built to flash three units concurrently.

He wrote a script based on the Atmel chip and creates a unique attestation certificate for each one. Normally the programming step would be straightforward, but using identical pieces of software for every token would compromise their security. Instead, he had the tokens fabricated and assembled before being shipped to him for programming. His original idea was to solder all of the tokens over the course of one night, which is of course overly optimistic. ’s tokens themselves are interesting in their simplicity: they use an Atmel ATECC508A specifically designed for P-256 signatures and keys, a the cheapest USB-enabled microcontroller he could find: a Silicon Labs EFM8UB1. He documented his trials and tribulations along the way, it’s both an interesting and perhaps cautionary tale. This is what happened to, who started with an idea to create two-factor authentication tokens and ended up manufacturing an selling them on Amazon.

If that turns out to be something that everyone else wants, though, the job gets suddenly much more complex. Building a circuit from prototyping to printed circuit board assembly is within the reach of pretty much anyone with the will to get the job done.

Amazon u2f