Yubico, a cybersecurity company recognized for its secure passkeys and YubiKey, has launched YubiNation Partners, a new global channel program. This initiative aims to establish a network of security experts to address increasing AI-driven cyber threats and facilitate the adoption of secure digital identity solutions for customers.
The program is designed to transform the traditional reseller model by empowering partners to offer phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication (MFA) and support the transition to passwordless authentication at scale. This development comes as the average cost of a corporate security breach has reached $4.4 million, with phishing remaining a significant attack vector. A 2026 Total Economic Impact study by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Yubico, indicated that replacing traditional MFA and one-time passwords with YubiKeys resulted in a 265% return on investment and reduced an organization’s exposure to breach costs from addressable attacks by 99.99%.
Bettina Vahl, Vice President of Global Channels at Yubico, stated that the program signifies a Partner-first strategy, moving beyond resale to cultivate a community of experts shaping digital identity. She added that YubiNation Partners is structured to enable partners as trusted advisors, providing them with the necessary tools for innovation, speed, and scale to help customers implement passwordless solutions securely.
The YubiNation Partners program includes four distinct tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, each structured to acknowledge technical expertise, investment, and collaboration. The Bronze tier focuses on rapid enablement through Yubico Academy and authorized distributors. Silver partners gain access to lead sharing and co-sell support for opportunities involving 200 or more users. Gold tier partners receive priority access to Market Development Funds (MDF), a dedicated go-to-market team, and a Not-for-Resale (NFR) allocation of up to 25 keys per quarter. The Platinum tier offers the strongest deal incentives, services leads, direct access to MDF, invitations to strategic events, business planning sessions, and an NFR allocation of up to 50 keys per quarter.
In the past year, Yubico has expanded the Yubico Academy to support various roles within its partner ecosystem, including 100-series (Essentials), 200-series (Sales), and 300-series (Technical Sales) certifications. The company has also made its 400-series Professional Services certification available to Platinum and Gold tier partners, following feedback from global partners. This program is intended to strengthen partners’ ability to streamline customer adoption of phishing-resistant solutions and enable them to leverage their expertise to deliver additional professional services.
Felix Brand, CISSP and cybersecurity architect at SVA, a Germany-based Yubico partner, commented positively on the new Professional Services certifications, noting the specialized vendor modules provided a targeted experience aligned with individual consulting partner needs and strengths.
Over 30% of Fortune 500 companies and 18 of the top 20 AI companies currently utilize YubiKeys to secure their workforces. By joining YubiNation, channel partners can leverage this market presence to potentially shorten sales cycles and drive recurring revenue. The program is designed to create a unified ecosystem where partners can advise, build, and resell, supported by tailored enablement and campaign kits.
Jake Pederson, director of software, cloud, and security alliances at Zones, remarked that Yubico’s updated channel program represents a strong step in supporting strategic partners. He highlighted that investments in enablement, tiering, and services alignment are positioned to drive greater impact in the identity security market, enabling Zones to differentiate through technical expertise and end-to-end delivery excellence globally.
Existing partners will be automatically assigned to one of the four program tiers based on current criteria such as revenue growth and Yubico Academy certifications. New partners interested in joining the YubiNation Partners community can submit an application through the Yubico website or a local Yubico distributor. Yubico, headquartered in Stockholm and Santa Clara, California, is a pioneer in hardware-based passwordless authentication using FIDO2, WebAuthn, and FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) open authentication standards. The company operates in over 160 countries and supports the philanthropic initiative Secure it Forward, donating YubiKeys to organizations assisting at-risk individuals.
