Case Study: CERN achieves stronger protection for admin accounts and server access with Yubico YubiKeys

CERN deploys YubiKeys to protect admin accounts and server access

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, needed to strengthen protection for its most sensitive administrator and operator accounts across diverse systems and a BYOD environment. Facing single points of failure and the requirement to support Linux, macOS and Windows with minimal backend changes, CERN evaluated multiple two‑factor options and selected a hardware solution that met usability and integration needs.

CERN deployed YubiKey 4 as a simple, cross‑platform MFA token for single sign‑on and SSH access, rolling out first to the security team and then more broadly to IT administrators. The keys integrated without user disruption, reduced account risk, enabled wider adoption across the organization, and are planned for further rollout as CERN expands strong authentication.

CERN

Vincent Brillault

Computer Security & Incident Response