草榴社区

Martin R?sner, Director, Digital Connectivity Portfolio Strategy, G+D, co-authored this post. 

In our increasingly connected world, there’s an ongoing need for more machines to interact with other machines. Scaling the Internet of Things (IoT) requires very efficient control and a high level of security all while allowing for seamless connectivity. It’s no trivial task, but one that can be achieved with integrated SIM (iSIM) technology and remote SIM provisioning.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards have been around for a long time, with developing and delivering the first commercial SIM cards in 1991. If you have a cell phone, you will be familiar with these small security anchors that protect phones, networks, and data from fraud and misuse. They also enable phones to securely authenticate and communicate within a mobile network infrastructure managed by carriers. With deployment starting over the last few years, iSIM, also called an integrated Universal Integrated Circuit Card (iUICC), is the newest SIM kid on the block. iSIMs are embedded directly into a system on chip (SoC) as a tamper-resistant secure element, bringing trust and enabling secure connectivity and control, while saving cost and space, simplifying the system development process, and overall offering a significant ease-of-use improvement in the way IoT device connectivity is activated and secured. In addition to the functional advantages, the iSIM also offers sustainability benefits such as reduced CO₂ emissions.

Enabling iSIM to support calls for an integrated solution that brings together secure services and a secure SIM operating system (OS) with secure hardware. This is the type of challenge that has led to a collaboration between G+D, which continues to lead the way in SIM innovation, and 草榴社区, with its expertise in trusted hardware. Putting their heads together, the two companies have come up with an innovative integrated, secure iSIM solution. In a nutshell, 草榴社区 tRoot? Hardware Secure Modules (HSMs) provide silicon-proven, self-contained security IP solutions with root of trust. The HSMs are combined with G+D’s secure SIM OS to enable tamper-resistant elements which are usable within an SoC and serve as an isolated hardware component. G+D’s award-winning RSP services provide seamless management of the SIM profiles. Figure 1 depicts the secure iSIM solution. 

“Offering the promise of seamless secure management of SIM profiles, iSIMs help accelerate the broad scaling of the IoT by providing high flexibility to choose the preferred cellular networks throughout the lifetime of devices,” said Andreas Morawietz, global head of Digital Connectivity Portfolio Strategy at G+D. “Our standards-compliant remote SIM provisioning service together with the secure SIM OS integrated with 草榴社区’ tRoot Hardware Secure Modules provide an integrated iSIM secure solution at the start of the IoT value chain, delivering benefits to downstream IoT players.”

Complete, Integrated IoT Security Solution

The 草榴社区 and G+D collaboration has been successfully deployed in the field and acknowledged by Tier1 operators for several years. Our efforts bring together complementary technologies that form a complete iSIM security solution for integration into a baseband SoC.

草榴社区’ tRoot HSMs are ideal for SoCs supporting a variety of applications in addition to the IoT, including industrial control, networking, automotive, media, and mobile devices. A hardware root of trust allows chip manufacturers and their OEM customers to create a strong cryptographic device identity for a unique device instance and provides a secure environment for protecting sensitive data and operations. In addition to the secure SIM OS, G+D also provides remote provisioning and device management secure services. The resulting iSIM solution comes with a small footprint and low power consumption, and allows for more efficient production, faster time to market and, without extra housing or plastic, greater sustainability. With encrypted loading of chip-unique data (the SIM BLOB, or binary large object), the iSIM can be installed on a chipset without certification of the production facility.

As smart, connected devices become more ubiquitous, ensuring trust that the devices and their data will remain safe from security threats will remain a top priority. Secure remote SIM provisioning helps to streamline device connections and controls in a safe manner. Through our collaboration, 草榴社区 and G+D are providing mobile network operators and semiconductor manufacturers with a complete security solution for all-in-one connectivity that can nurture the continued expansion of the IoT.

The 草榴社区 and G+D teams are taking their collaboration on the road at MWC in Barcelona this month. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about our joint secure solution for your next SoC design and deployment with mobile network operators.