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Show HN: A secure, open source U2F token you can make with $4.5 worth of parts

267 pointsby conorppalmost 9 years ago

21 comments

devyalmost 9 years ago
The author, Connor Patrick&#x27;s personal site has a &quot;looking for work&quot; page[1]. It reads:<p><pre><code> I want to work on projects that do good. I don’t want to work on projects regarding surveilance or the weaking of existing cryptosystems. </code></pre> Way to go Connor!<p>[1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;work&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;work&#x2F;</a>
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CJKinnialmost 9 years ago
My barrier to entry with a lot of DIY hardware projects was an incorrect assumption that it was difficult&#x2F;expensive to get PCBs made. Looking into this, I found the blog of the guy running this project and he had some experience with various cheap PCB vendors, with stencils going as low as $18. [1]<p>[1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;03&#x2F;13&#x2F;my-experience-with-dirtypcbscom&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;03&#x2F;13&#x2F;my-experience-with-dirtypcbsc...</a>
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sowbugalmost 9 years ago
Two comments on the circuit:<p>1. If you&#x27;re willing to add two more diodes, you can make the USB connector two-sided so that it can plug in either way. See <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;electronics.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;209941&#x2F;two-sided-connectorless-usb-on-a-pcb" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;electronics.stackexchange.com&#x2F;questions&#x2F;209941&#x2F;two-si...</a> for explanation.<p>2. The ALPS SKQGAKE010 (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mouser.com&#x2F;search&#x2F;ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkeySKQGAKE010" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mouser.com&#x2F;search&#x2F;ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualke...</a>) is inexpensive and popular. It looks like it&#x27;s lower-profile than the button used in the current design, which means it&#x27;d be more likely to survive for a long time in a pants pocket, jangling along with a bunch of keys.
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Loicalmost 9 years ago
I just hope the keys are not his home&#x2F;office keys. Please do not secure the access to your digital life with an U2F token and break the security of your <i>real</i> life by putting a picture of your keys in the open...
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amlutoalmost 9 years ago
Linux users should use cross-vendor U2F support rather than hardcoding device ids into the udev rules:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;amluto&#x2F;u2f-hidraw-policy" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;amluto&#x2F;u2f-hidraw-policy</a>
vogalmost 9 years ago
I&#x27;m curious about the following statement in the README:<p><i>&gt; The token is durable enough to survive on a key chain for years, even after going through the wash.</i><p>On the other hand, the token is shown as &quot;naked electronics&quot;, without a husk.<p>Is that really sufficient for such a device? Does it really withstand (mineral) water, mechanical stress (key chain), let alone the combination of both (washing)?
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xaduhaalmost 9 years ago
Haven&#x27;t tried it yet, but there is this for smartcards. Not sure if it will work with blank java cards, I mean they provide the cap file and source.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;LedgerHQ&#x2F;ledger-u2f-javacard" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;LedgerHQ&#x2F;ledger-u2f-javacard</a>
zxcvgmalmost 9 years ago
Nice! I initially wanted to build a similar device using just an ATtiny85 that speaks USB using USBtiny [1] or V-USB [2]. It would be low-cost but also not secure. Using a crypto processor like the ATECC508A is obviously a saner choice.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;dicks.home.xs4all.nl&#x2F;avr&#x2F;usbtiny&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;dicks.home.xs4all.nl&#x2F;avr&#x2F;usbtiny&#x2F;</a> [2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.obdev.at&#x2F;products&#x2F;vusb&#x2F;index.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.obdev.at&#x2F;products&#x2F;vusb&#x2F;index.html</a>
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badsockalmost 9 years ago
This project is awesome, but I&#x27;d be worried about my hand brushing up against all that lead every day for years. Or am I being too paranoid? In any case, easily solved with some casting epoxy.
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cwkossalmost 9 years ago
Very cool! Has anyone published any work on using sidechannel information to extract keys from U2F tokens?
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cdnstevealmost 9 years ago
U2F seems great. I&#x27;ve just started using it and am looking for a device. Maybe now I&#x27;ll build my own! His article on accelerating a program with hardware was a great read too. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;12&#x2F;16&#x2F;how-to-accelerate-a-program-with-hardware&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;conorpp.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;12&#x2F;16&#x2F;how-to-accelerate-a-program-w...</a>
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sowbugalmost 9 years ago
Here is a shared Mouser project list with the eight parts: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mouser.com&#x2F;ProjectManager&#x2F;ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=ec674f0a7f" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.mouser.com&#x2F;ProjectManager&#x2F;ProjectDetail.aspx?Acce...</a><p>I haven&#x27;t carefully checked that the part numbers are equivalent. If you find an error, please let me know.
amlutoalmost 9 years ago
This is neat!<p>Is there also source for the firmware that runs on the secure element?
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rajeemcariazoalmost 9 years ago
I didn&#x27;t know github also supports 3d models with visualization
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arvieweralmost 9 years ago
The programmer link is not working.<p>&gt; The page isn&#x27;t redirecting properly<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.digikey.com&#x2F;product-detail&#x2F;en&#x2F;silicon-labs&#x2F;DEBUGADPTR1-USB&#x2F;336-1182-ND&#x2F;807653" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.digikey.com&#x2F;product-detail&#x2F;en&#x2F;silicon-labs&#x2F;DEBUGA...</a>
zarothalmost 9 years ago
Is there anything written on why this is a valid choice for improving op-sec versus going with a commercial offering?<p>Open source made from parts seems like it would be very much under your own control. But it is also... <i>bespoke</i>. Which raises a different threat model, doesn&#x27;t it?
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StavrosKalmost 9 years ago
This looks fantastic, and doubly so because it uses KiCAD, which I love.
tinloafalmost 9 years ago
As far as I understood the U2F standard, the dongles need a FIDO-issued manufacturer key. Do sites accepting U2F just not check that the corresponding signature is present?
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tomohawkalmost 9 years ago
I really like the idea of using a token like this, but how do you back up the data if the key is not copyable?
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a3r0almost 9 years ago
This page seems to instantly crash the tab for me in Chrome
sleepychualmost 9 years ago
Optimised for style XD