RISC-V International and GlobalPlatform Partner to Enhance Security Design of IoT Devices

Industry associations collaborate to drive open source standards that simplify security design for hardware developers and enhance the security of IoT devices and processors

May 11, 2020 – GlobalPlatform, the standard for secure digital services and devices, RISC-V International, a global non-profit consortium, are pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Collaboration between the two organizations will help accelerate the development of open standards for the hardware design of embedded components in connected devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). This includes processors embedded with Trusted Execution Environment (TEEs), which are witnessing significant growth.

In 2019, GlobalPlatform reported a 50 percent year-on-year increase in the number of GlobalPlatform-compliant TEEs being shipped. Aligning specifications and exchanging information on known hardware vulnerabilities and the required functionalities to overcome them, will enable GlobalPlatform and RISC-V to update each organization’s their respective technical documents and frameworks to address the evolving security needs of the IoT ecosystem. Short to mid-term examples are expected to include a focus on application programming interfaces (APIs) for the TEE, as well as microcontroller (MCU) protection profiles and the appropriate security extensions.

“A key objective of RISC-V is to bring the industry together and enable a new era of collaborative, open source hardware development,” says Calista Redmond, CEO of RISC-V International. “Bringing the major open source hardware and security standardization organizations together represents a sizable leap forward in enabling secure hardware development. We look forward to working with GlobalPlatform to bring real benefits to the ecosystem.”

Gil Bernabeu, Technical Director at GlobalPlatform, adds, “GlobalPlatform has established strong collaborative relationships with key industry partners across the world and we are pleased to count RISC-V among them.

“Standardized hardware security provides a trusted platform for innovation. Secure components that deliver multiple security and privacy benefits are increasingly being used for more advanced IoT use cases, like healthtech, connected cars and homes, and Industry 4.0. As the IoT ecosystem expands, we look forward to working with RISC-V to align our technical documents and meet the needs of device makers, enabling innovative, secure solutions to be more quickly and cost effectively brought to market.”

RISC-V International was founded to build an open, collaborative community of software and hardware innovators based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture (ISA). RISC-V International, a non-profit organization controlled by its members, directs the future development and drives the adoption of the RISC-V ISA. Members of RISC-V have access to and participate in the development of the RISC-V ISA specification and extensions as well as related hardware and software.

GlobalPlatform has accelerated its work to standardize the design, certification, deployment and management of IoT devices in recent years. Its existing work to standardize and certify secure components, alongside APIs to secure devices from the root of trust to the cloud, has been built upon with the announcement of recent new initiatives. In October the organization unveiled IoTopia, a framework to better secure and manage IoT devices, and more recently GlobalPlatform announced its support for Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) methodology.

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 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.