# Founder of Yubico, co-inventor of the YubiKey

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/experts/stina-ehrensvard/
Last updated: 2026-09-20
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

---

## Bio

Stina Ehrensvärd is an industrial designer who founded Yubico in 2007 with Jakob Ehrensvärd and co-invented the YubiKey. The first version produced a one-time password with no drivers and no client software, by presenting itself to the computer as a keyboard. She and Jakob received the Polhem Prize in 2024.

Profile built from public company, press, and award records.

## Where their work shows up

The design decision, a device that types, so it works everywhere with no software, is what let hardware authentication escape the enterprise deployments that needed dedicated middleware. Yubico went on to co-author [U2F and FIDO2](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/webauthn-fido2/), and hardware security keys remain the strongest widely deployed answer to phishing, including the [AITM proxy attacks](https://startwithidentity.com/techniques/aitm-phishing-proxy/) that defeat one-time codes. See the [Yubico profile](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/mfa/yubico/) and the [best phishing-resistant MFA](https://startwithidentity.com/rankings/best-phishing-resistant-mfa/) ranking.