The latest version of Apple Safari supports the WebAuthentication (WebAuthn) API, which allows its owners to log in to services and applications using USB security sticks.
Users can enable the feature that allows them to Login With USB-based CTAP2 sticks, which offer higher protection than a text-based password. However, this means that text-based passwords are eliminated, as the USB sticks are used as a second layer of protection. This greatly reduces phishing and hacking attacks.
However, Safari is not the first browser to implement this feature, but rather the last. First of all, Mozilla Firefox introduced WebAuthn support earlier in 2018, followed by Google Chrome. Well-known websites that we visit often already support the additional security option, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Office 365.
USB Key authentication is another way of authenticating, like Duo or receiving a one-time pass via SMS. Hardware keys are particularly effective, and Google itself says that using them has eliminated phishing attacks, after giving 85,000 USB Keys to its employees.
However, this does not mean that we can be 100% sure about our security. The USB Key is a piece of hardware that can be broken, tampered with or even lost, in which case the user may have difficulty proving it. If you want to try the new feature, you can download version 71 of Safari, although it is not guaranteed to be available to all users.
