A security object creation and validation system provides an additional factor of authentication. An authentication system as described herein provides secure two-factor authentication, such as for IT resources in an organization. The authentication system can perform generation of a security object (such as an X.509 object, Java object, persistent browser token, or other digital certificate); registration of the generated security object or of an existing security object (such as a near field communication identifier, smart card identifier, OATH token, etc.); validation of the security object as part of an authentication process; and assertion of the identity of the security object to native network resources (such as web resources, network resources, cloud resources, mobile applications, and the like) that may accept the security object. The authentication system may provide user interfaces to allow users and administrators to manage registered device inventory and revoke security objects.