January 7, 2026
Twist to Unlock
My first paper: A practical implementation of Rubiks cube based passkeys
Rubik’s Cube as a password? Internet cheers, security geeks clutch pearls
TLDR: A new demo uses a Rubik’s Cube’s exact scramble as a login key, generating passkeys from its state. The crowd’s split: it’s a fun idea with clever tech, but critics slam weak security, easy-to-guess scrambles, webcam shortcuts, and kid-induced disaster potential, urging stronger safeguards and transparency.
A researcher just proposed CubeAuthn—turning a Rubik’s Cube into your login key by reading its exact scramble and using it to generate a passkey (the industry standard for passwordless sign‑in). The demo wowed some, but the real fireworks erupted in the comments. One early fan asked, basically, why not just point a webcam at the cube and be done with it, suggesting this could be way simpler to use (thread). Another demanded to see the paper itself, side‑eyeing the missing PDF from the code repo—cue transparency drama.
Then the security squad arrived. A top critique: the cube’s 43 quintillion states only work out to about 65‑bit security, which number‑nerds say is not enough for serious protection. Comparisons flew to DiceKeys, a box of dice that creates much stronger codes at 192 bits (DiceKeys). Others warned that, like those phone unlock patterns, people will pick easy scrambles and hate fixing mistakes. The funniest worry? A parent panicked: if their kid solves the “key,” they’re doomed. The mood split hard: novel, delightful gadget vs. cute but risky gimmick. The community loved the creativity—but demanded stronger security, clearer guidance, and maybe a child‑proof shelf for that “password.”
Key Points
- •The system uses a Rubik’s cube’s physical configuration as a deterministic seed for keypair generation.
- •It generates FIDO2-compatible credentials on-demand rather than storing them.
- •CubeAuthn is a proof-of-concept browser extension implementing this approach.
- •Authentication occurs on WebAuthn-enabled sites using the cube-derived cryptographic seed.
- •The cube becomes part of the key, integrating a physical artifact into digital passkey workflows.