24 September 2019 – GlobalPlatform, the standard for secure digital services and devices, has published four technical documents to bring the benefits of the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) to a wider range of IoT devices, including automotive and other consumer and industrial markets. Now, GlobalPlatform provides further trusted foundations enabling stakeholders to trust the device and user management of their IoT devices, and the digital services running on them.
The specifications follow significant growth in the adoption of TEE-enabled processors, with the organization reporting a 25 percent increase in the number being shipped quarterly, year-on-year, in 2018.
“The TEE is well established in devices like smartphones and set-top boxes, highlighting its value to the IoT and automotive worlds,” explains GlobalPlatform’s Technical Director, Gil Bernabeu. “To support the IoT, we have continued our investment in trust and aligned with a wider range of global, regional and sector-specific requirements. With this work, we are enabling more collaborative and open ecosystems where digital services and devices can be trusted.”
Greater flexibility and trust for the IoT and consumer devices
With these updates GlobalPlatform has standardized trusted application (TA) deployment and management, optimized for IoT devices, providing greater technical and business opportunities for device manufacturers and service providers.
Trusted user interfaces (TUIs) and biometric support have been expanded to enable additional use cases and the biometric systems can now be certified, meaning it is possible to trust that the authentication has been performed in a secure environment.
The documents are:
- GlobalPlatform Technology TEE Internal Core API Specification v1.2 – defines a set of APIs for the development of TAs running inside a TEE and adds new features to the TEE to support the latest platform and market requirements.
- GlobalPlatform Technology TEE Management Framework (TMF): Open Trust Protocol (OTrP) Profile v1.0 – adds a TMF-OTrP profile to support multiple kinds of TEE management, increasing flexibility and streamlining TA development.
- GlobalPlatform Technology TEE Trusted User Interface Low-level API v1.0.1 – enables selected information to be securely exposed to, or requested from, the device user for validation.
- GlobalPlatform Technology TEE System Architecture v1.2 – brings key architectural and conceptual updates and clarifications into one place, enabling third parties to gain a quick overview of the possibilities when using a TEE.
Notes to editors:
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.
