Case Study: GOV.UK achieves secure, scalable two-factor access for millions with Yubico YubiKey

UK residents enjoy secure online access to government services

GOV.UK, the UK government’s single online hub for public services, needed a simple but strong way for citizens and residents to prove their identity and access services without in-person verification or mailed documents. Relying on usernames and passwords left users and agencies exposed, so the challenge was to deploy a cost-effective, scalable two‑factor authentication solution able to serve millions.

GOV.UK implemented Digidentity as a certified identity provider and Yubico YubiKey hardware using the FIDO U2F standard: users verify their identity online, register a U2F security key, then authenticate by entering credentials and inserting/tapping the YubiKey (no drivers required). The result is a secure, privacy-protecting, easy-to-use authentication flow that scales to millions, enabling efficient delivery of government services and setting a new standard for public-sector access.

GOV.UK

Marcel Wendy

Digidentity CTO and Co-Founder