Month: August 2017

STMicroelectronics and Security Platform Inc. to combine security expertise STMicroelectronics and Security Platform Inc., a Korea-based technology innovator enabling trusted connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT), are bringing robust, efficient, and easy-to-use security solutions to IoT devices. The IoT comprises potentially billions of tiny, connected, embedded computing devices to help manage services and infrastructure automatically. The devices communicate through the Internet and share data with the Cloud, and so need strong but lightweight and convenient security to prevent cyber-attackers intercepting sensitive information or infecting connected devices with malware. Trusted computing helps keep networks safe by combining specially designed secure ICs and software that help check the integrity and verify the credentials of any device that is connected or attempts to connect. ST and Security Platform are working to simplify implementation of highly secure IoT devices, leveraging Trusted Computing principles. “Working with Security Platform, we aim to solve all the hardware-software integration challenges, providing a seamless path for IoT-device makers to implement best-in-class security for smart connected devices,” said Laurent Degauque, Secure Microcontrollers Division (SMD) Marketing Director, STMicroelectronics, “Our STSAFE-TPM Trusted Platform Module is proven, reliable, certified to international security standards, and provides the perfect foundation for this objective.” “The embedded-security software technology from Security Platform makes it possible to embed light yet powerful protection features into lightweight IoT devices with limited resources at the manufacturing stage,” said Su-ik Hwang, CEO of Security Platform, “The integration with STSAFE-TPM from a leading Secure MCU provider ST helped us create a total security solution that enables devices to be intrinsically resistant to cyber-attacks to ensure the safety and success of the IoT.” ST’s STSAFE-TPM is a Trusted Platform Module that provides secure storage for data such as cryptographic keys needed to authenticate the system, using proven techniques such as anti-tamper, memory protection, and data-watching prevention. It meets industry-recognized security standards including Trusted Computing Group (TCG) TPM 1.2 and TPM 2.0 protection profiles, IT-security Common Criteria Level 4+ (CC EAL4+) certification, and US Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2. Using its Axio-OS secure operating system and Axio-RA remote-attestation verification solution, Security Platform checks for breaches of integrity by verifying the hash information of the device from a separate server. Together, these software modules also provide anti-cloning and anti-forgery protection, and process device authentication, message signing, and security update using only the appropriate signing code. While this collaboration will deliver a pre-integrated, ready-to-use solution, it builds on the existing independent STSAFE-TPM ICs and Axio-OS and Axio-RA software the companies are already marketing and can help customers tie together. In these instances, Security Platform can supply Axio-OS and Axio-RA with a developer kit comprising a board and chipset to aid integration. STSAFE-TPMs are available within the larger STSAFE family of ICs from ST, which are tailored to support platform integrity, authentication, secure storage and other cryptographic services in various classes of connected devices from small IoT devices to industrial or consumer products, and desktop computers. Security Platform Inc. is a fast growing South Korean startup providing state-of-the-art hardware security for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Collaborating with leading MCU and SoC partners to integrate its Axio solutions into the silicon layer, empowering and securing diverse IoT devices by anti-forgery, anti-cloning and data protection features for trusted connectivity. Security Platform’s secure IoT development board, Axio-Builder enables IoT device manufacturers and developers to implement robust device security at a nominal cost, at ease leveraging its in-depth expertise of BSP, OS and cryptography technology.

US consumers fear more than terrorist attack FICO’s latest consumer finance trend research has revealed that 44 percent of US consumers rate identity theft and banking fraud as their top concern. This was more than double than those who said their top concern was being the victim of a terrorist attack (18 percent) and twice the number who thought their own death or that of a loved one was their primary worry (22 percent). “Human beings hate to lose,” said Bob Shiflet, Vice President of FICO’s fraud business line, “The survey confirms the psychology of loss aversion, especially when it comes to money and the likelihood of an event happening to us. The loss of your personal information or money from your account cuts deep, it is a violation, and people now know it’s much more likely to happen to them.” Consumers were most concerned about the theft of their social security number (86 percent), followed by their bank account information (76 percent) and their credit card information (58 percent). The least concerning was medical records (15 percent) and biometric data (17 percent). Luckily for the banking industry, 78 percent of consumers who said they experienced fraud were satisfied with their bank’s response or handling of the incident. For some, it seems to have improved their relationship with the bank. 14 percent opened additional accounts while 20 percent recommended the bank to others. Conversely, out of those who were dissatisfied, 25 percent decided to close the affected account, while a further 12 percent closed all their accounts. “Proactive and early communication as well as a speedy resolution are important to a satisfactory experience when it comes to fraud,” said Shiflet, “Banks need to turn fraud incidents into responses that encourage customers to keep their accounts open. Understanding the concerns of fraud victims, and being able to counter their fear of further loss, encourages customers to stay.” In the event of a breach, banks stand to lose significantly due to a poor response. In a separate survey FICO conducted with Ovum, only 52 percent of US senior IT execs said their firm has a tested data breach response plan. “Banks should ensure that their data breach response plan is tested, and includes adequate measures for public relations and customer communications,” said Shiflet, “The plan must include what the bank can offer to customers post-breach, to allay their fears.” FICO commissioned an online survey of about 1,000 US consumers over the age of 17 in February and March 2017. Data was weighted by age and region to reflect U.S. Census data. FICO powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956 and based in Silicon Valley, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 175 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 100 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of airplanes and rental cars are in the right place at the right time.

Driving Enterprise WiFi Investments IHS Markit releases findings from its WLAN Strategies North American enterprise survey, which takes an in-depth look at the access networks of medium-to-large companies and their plans for delivering wireless connectivity in the workplace to new types of devices. The annual survey of network managers shows that investments in WLANs continue unabated, driven by growth in users, a shift toward mobile devices and wireless access, adoption of IoT, and the need for greater security and network performance. Security in particular is the number one network change by a wide margin, and the top reason to invest in new infrastructure as companies must fend off a constant barrage of cyberattacks. “Our research found that workplaces are changing, and employees will spend a majority of their time away from their primary workstation in the future,” said Matthias Machowinski, Senior Research Director for Enterprise Networks and Video at IHS Markit, “Retailers are at the forefront of this trend, but we expect a broad range of industries to follow suit. As companies adopt mobility-centric processes, it’s crucial that employees keep access to communication tools and information wherever they are, and this requirement is driving the current WiFi investment cycle.” Respondents are growing their installed base of access points (APs) by 20 percent per year, and upgrading to newer technologies to address growing coverage and capacity requirements. The not-yet-released 802.11ax standard is the most common type of AP that respondents plan to purchase by 2019. Tablets are the number one type of device new to the network over the next year, followed by a host of IoT-related devices such as cars, lighting controls, displays, speakers, sensors, thermostats, appliances, drones and ATMs. Also new, but in smaller numbers, are wearables and virtual reality (VR)/ augmented reality (AR) devices. In past years, cloud applications were not a major contributor to WiFi traffic growth, but this changed in 2017, with cloud now among the top three drivers due to the adoption of new IT architectures, public cloud services and devices whose functionality relies on cloud connectivity. Key data points from the IHS Markit report Respondents expect their user populations to grow at a double-digit rate annually over the next two years. Guests account for almost half the user population today, and represent the fastest growing segment (growing 18 percent per year). Respondents expect their installed base of IP desk phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs to grow by more than 30 percent by 2019. Mobile devices (smartphones, tablets and laptops) will grow at over twice the rate of tethered devices. ‘Cord cutting’ continues to gather steam: respondents expect two-thirds of their employees to connect to the network exclusively via WiFi by 2019. Performance and reliability are the top two criteria respondents use when choosing vendors.

NVT Phybridge has recently joined the Arecont Vision Infrastructure Partner Program. NVT Phybridge is the leading global provider of Power Over Long Reach Ethernet (PoLRE), and Arecont Vision megapixel cameras are successfully installed with NVT Phybridge solutions across a growing number of verticals and applications. “The CHARIoT Series solutions are designed to eliminate every barrier to making the move to IP. Security risk and breaches during network refresh is a top concern,” said John Croce, CEO of NVT Phybridge, “Our mission is to help every customer first establish the needed IP platform and extended IP connectivity to places where people are able to do their best work – comfortably, efficiently, and securely.” Customers trust NVT Phybridge CHARIoT solutions to meet their most demanding security and uptime requirements during network changes. The company was recognized with an 1105 Media Govie Award at ISC West 2017, while Arecont Vision took home two of the coveted government security-oriented awards from the Las Vegas, NV security industry event. “Teaming with NVT Phybridge, who is well respected by commercial and government customers for their network security and Power Over Long Reach Ethernet, fits extremely well with the Arecont Vision cybersecurity leadership of megapixel camera technology,” said Jason Schimpf, Director of the Arecont Vision Technology Partner Program, “The Arecont Vision-developed Massively parallel image processing (MPIP) architecture provides unique cybersecurity protection for every camera we build. With this 5th generation architecture, Arecont Vision cameras cannot be maliciously repurposed through cyberattack. Many competitor cameras have been hacked and then used in well documented distributed denial of service, ransomware, network penetration, and other cyberattacks, across both local and global networks and the Internet.” “Aligning ourselves with a proven leading megapixel camera manufacturer like Arecont Vision is a natural fit for NVT Phybridge,” says Steven Fair, EVP of NVT Phybridge, “We are both seeking to support and protect the same customers – those who care about how their infrastructure performs against all security breaches.” Through the Arecont Vision Technology Partner Program, sales, development, and support contacts are established between the two companies in order to better engage with end user customers and integrators, integrate new features and technology, and quickly resolve any customer support issues. As part of the program, Arecont Vision cameras are in the NVT Phybridge test labs, while NVT Phybridge network equipment is in the MegaLab test and certification facility.

ASSA ABLOY has recently acquired Atlantic Door Control, a pedestrian door distributor in the U.S., and Arjo Systems SAS, a leading provider of physical and digital identity solutions in France for secure government ID applications Atlantic Door Control in the U.S. “I am very pleased that Atlantic Door Control is joining the ASSA ABLOY Group. I welcome this addition that further reinforces ASSA ABLOY’s leadership in entrance automation, where our sales have grown from SEK 3 billion in 2008 to SEK 20 billion in 2016,” says Johan Molin, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. “We hereby continue our expansion in North America, adding to our growing market footprint. Atlantic Door Control gives us a strong presence in an important area of the market and I welcome the team to ASSA ABLOY,” says Juan Vargues, Executive Vice President of ASSA ABLOY and Head of Division Entrance Systems. Atlantic Door Control was established in 1992 and the company is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. Sales for 2017 are expected to reach USD 12 million (approx. SEK 110 million) with a good EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from start. Arjo Systems in France “Arjo is an exciting technological addition to the ASSA ABLOY Group. The company reinforces our current offering within secure identity solutions. The acquisition of Arjo considerably enhances the Group´s position within government ID and will provide complementary growth opportunities,” says Johan Molin, President and CEO of ASSA ABLOY. “Our acquisition of Arjo significantly advances our Government ID business, broadening our geographical reach and giving us critical mass,” says Stefan Widing, Executive Vice President ASSA ABLOY and Head of business unit HID Global, “Arjo is a strong fit for HID Global, complementing our existing government ID offerings with an expanded range of capabilities for government agencies, state printers and local integrators.” Arjo was founded in 2011 and has some 100 employees with operations in France, Italy and Hong Kong. Sales for 2017 are expected to reach EUR 56 million (approx. SEK 550 million) with a good EBIT margin. The acquisition will be accretive to EPS from start.

AUSTRALIAN tech firm Cohda Wireless has trialled its vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) technology on city streets for the first time The technology was originally designed to allow cars and motorcycles to avoid collisions by talking to each other. In collaboration with Telstra and the South Australian Government, Cohda Wireless has conducted the first test of V2P technology over a mobile network in South Australia’s capital, Adelaide.The system uses mobile technology to provide an early-collision warning to a driver and also alerts a pedestrian or cyclist via a smartphone application. This innovation could become available in the 16 million smartphones in use in Australia and could potentially be extended to the two billion smartphones worldwide. Cohda Wireless CEO, Paul Gray said, “The trials highlighted the impact of Vehicle-to-everything communications on community safety. Giving vehicles 360-degree situational awareness and sharing real-time driving information is the only way we can create safer roads for the future. Cohda’s ongoing partnership with Telstra also demonstrates Cohda’s ability to deliver Cellular V2X (C-V2X) solutions, an important part of the complete V2X system.” The technology makes use of available 4G networks to allow riders, drivers and pedestrians who are further away to reliably receive necessary information.Before a driver turns a blind corner the system will notify them of any pedestrian or cyclist crossing the adjacent street. It was tested using other common scenarios, such as a car and a cyclist approaching a blind corner, a car reversing out of a driveway, and a car approaching a pedestrian crossing. The trial was funded in part by the South Australian government’s AU$10 million Future Mobility Lab Fund to boost local testing, research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. Cohda commands about 60 per cent of the global vehicle-to-vehicle communication market. It previously developed a ‘digital protective shield’ system, which transmitted information such as vehicle types, speed, position and direction of travel between cars and motorcycles, at a rate of up to 10 times per second to ensure a high level of accuracy. This service could be transmitted to any device within a several hundred-metre radius. Telstra Chief Technology Officer, Håkan Eriksson said, “The technology would make Australian roads safer, more efficient, and better-prepared for the future of autonomous vehicles.” “The most important outcome of V2X technology is the increased safety for road users, as the impact of human error can be minimised by helping vehicles communicate with each other and react to their surroundings,” he continued. “This is the first time V2P technology has been trialled in Australia on a 4G network, and is an important step on the journey to fully-autonomous vehicles on Australian roads,” he concluded. South Australia has a history of involvement with autonomous car research and in 2015 held the first driverless car trials in the Southern Hemisphere. It hosts a number of leading autonomous car companies including Cohda Wireless and its innovative V2X (Vehicle to everything) technology and RDM Group, which opened its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Adelaide earlier this year. South Australia is also a leading driverless car research hub and recently the University of Adelaide managed to improve artificial vision systems by studying dragonflies and other insects.