IoT Device Security Feature To Combat Evolving Threats

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• Silicon Labs’ IoT device security software technology aims to curb the rise in threats that wireless SoCs are prone to
• Security features include secure boot, secure debug and secure identity detection

Silicon Labs has announced that its software technology, the Secure Vault dedicated to safeguarding IoT devices against growing cyber threats will be soon available in the new EFR32MG21B multi-protocol wireless SoCs.

Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault is a new suite of state-of-the-art security features designed to help connected device manufacturers address escalating IoT security threats and regulatory pressures. 

Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko Series 2 platform takes advantage of Secure Vault technologies by combining best-in-class security features such as:

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• secure boot based on hardware root of trust
• secure debug
• physical tamper, 
• secure identity for attestation and physically unclonable function (PUF) key management technology for reducing the risk of IoT security breaches and compromised intellectual property.

“From tiny low-power sensors to high-performance IoT devices, security must be built in at the chip level to ensure a strong foundation,” said Andy Rose, chief system architect and fellow at Arm. “Silicon Labs understands the importance of this and by achieving PSA Certified Level 2, their customers can be assured of robust protection against scalable software attacks, enabling secure SoCs for mass market IoT deployment.”

Certified security

The company’s xG22 Thunderboard and EFR32MG21B development kits have achieved SmartCert security certification status from the ioXt Alliance, recognized as a global standard for IoT security. Because the ioXt Alliance allows for certification inheritance, these Silicon Labs ioXt certifications can be leveraged by any device manufacturer using Silicon Labs’ xG22 and xG21B to greatly reduce their own device level ioXt certification time and effort. 

“Earning the ioXt SmartCert for xG22 Thunderboard represents a deep commitment to security and transparency which will have a ripple effect through the smart home, smart retail and portable medical device markets,” said Brad Ree, chief technology officer at the ioXt Alliance.

“Threats are continuously evolving, and the demands on IoT product developers to keep up can be difficult – particularly in low cost, resource-constrained IoT products,” said Matt Johnson, senior vice president of IoT at Silicon Labs. “Securing IoT products in our connected world is a necessity as customer data and cloud-based business models are increasingly targeted for costly hacks, and IoT security requirements are quickly becoming law. Silicon Labs is committed to working with the security community, customers and third-party security experts to deliver state-of-the-art security solutions that help protect connected IoT devices today and tomorrow.” 

Secure Vault has earned PSA Certified Level 2 certification, which is based on a comprehensive assurance framework co-founded by Arm that helps IoT security standardisation and enables barrier-free time-to-market.