GlobalPlatform Hails 20th Year as Strategic Milestone

​​GlobalPlatform has hailed its 20th year as a strategic milestone in its mission to create collaborative and open ecosystems in which stakeholders can efficiently deliver innovative digital services, while providing greater security, privacy, simplicity and convenience for users.

Kevin Gillick, Executive Director of GlobalPlatform, comments: “Twenty years ago, we set out to create an environment for experts to develop the foundations for innovative digital services and devices. Billions of GlobalPlatform-compliant Secure Elements and Trusted Execution Environments are deployed around the world, protecting devices, data and services for identity, payments, telecoms, and transportation and we are now extending this experience with a comprehensive approach to IoT device security. It is fitting that our anniversary year should be pivotal for the organization and wider industry.”

Watch this short video to learn about the organization’s past and current successes, and how it is bringing security to our increasingly connected world.

Addressing the needs of the IoT ecosystem

Building on GlobalPlatform’s previous work to secure the internet of things (IoT), the organization launched IoTopia in October 2019. It proposes a common framework for standardizing the design, certification, deployment and management of IoT devices. IoTopia device security will be testable and meet vertical and geographical market requirements by building upon four foundational pillars: Security by Design; Device Intent; Autonomous, Scalable, Secure Device Onboarding (SDO); and Device Lifecycle Management.

The organization also appointed a Strategic Director to accelerate the association’s work on IoT security. Chris Steck, Head of Standardization, IoT & Industries at Cisco, is providing strategic guidance to the Board of Directors on GlobalPlatform’s IoT initiatives, the security requirements of cloud and edge devices and the use of GlobalPlatform technologies to bring trust to the IoT ecosystem.

The GlobalPlatform Board has also been monitoring the rapid growth of the secure microcontroller unit (MCU) market. With IoT device manufacturers looking for ever greater security and a range of secure component choices, GlobalPlatform has taken the decision to begin standardization work to support the integration of greater security within IoT MCUs.

GlobalPlatform will also support the IoT device security certification ecosystem with the adoption of the Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) methodology. The objective is to build consistency across IoT certification schemes (regional or vertical) to facilitate product evaluation and certificate recognition. The organization will share further updates on these activities later this year.

About GlobalPlatform:

GlobalPlatform is a non-profit industry association driven by approximately 90 member companies. Members share a common goal to develop GlobalPlatform’s specifications, which are today highly regarded as the international standard for enabling digital services and devices to be trusted and securely managed throughout their lifecycle.
 
GlobalPlatform protects digital services by standardizing and certifying a security hardware/firmware combination, known as a secure component, which acts as an on-device trust anchor. This facilitates collaboration between service providers and device manufacturers, empowering them to ensure adequate security within all devices to protect against threats.
 
GlobalPlatform specifications also standardize the secure management of digital services and devices once deployed in the field. Altogether, GlobalPlatform enables convenient and secure digital service delivery to end users, while supporting privacy, regardless of market sector or device type. Devices secured by GlobalPlatform include smartphones, tablets, set top boxes, wearables, connected cars, other internet of things (IoT) devices and smart cards.
 
The technology’s widespread global adoption delivers cost and time-to-market efficiencies to all. Market sectors adopting GlobalPlatform technology include payments, telecoms, transportation, automotive, smart cities, smart home, utilities, healthcare, premium content, government, industrial automation and enterprise ID.
 
GlobalPlatform’s legacy of successful technical specification development is thanks to two decades of energetic and effective industry collaboration. Members influence the organization’s output through participation in technical committees, working groups and strategic task forces. GlobalPlatform technology is developed in collaboration with numerous standards bodies and regional organizations across the world, to ensure continual relevance and timeliness. For more information visit www.globalplatform.org.