ARM Community: Security and IoT - Two Topics on Operators' Minds - ARM Community

We are in the run-up to Mobile World Congress and there is a lot happening in the mobile device ecosystem. Two technology areas with a lot of mobile and media operator traction are security and the new and enhanced services this brings, and the connected-everything Internet of Things – how to enable lots of small scale devices to connect to the net and offer a set of interesting new services. Expect to see related products and announcements at MWC!

Security and trust – this is central to delivering the services we want on our everyday devices. Well-designed system wide security can bring better and totally new user experiences, such as the ability to view any content on any screen, pay for things quickly and simply online with a securely captured PIN code, keeping your corporate data safely separated from your personal data, and protecting the handset subsidy investment. These services need the right tool for the job – a GlobalPlatform-compliant Trusted Execution Environment based on TrustZone assures integrity through a hardware root of trust and trusted boot, while secure storage and execution provides a “walled garden”, untouchable by the OS and applications on the device, to protect Trusted Applications against the main threat of software attacks. As the TEE executes on the application processor, it also allows hardware peripherals to have separate secure drivers. This allows OEMs to design, for example, a secure User Interface for secure PIN capture and encryption, in turn allowing access to a range of trusted services without risk of remote hacking. If the system has a secure element providing tamper-proof security (e.g. a SIM), it can be linked to the TEE via an encrypted channel as the two security subsystems complement one another; this will be demonstrated at MWC this year. Trusted Applications is a growth area with new business opportunities; expect this on a smartphone or tablet near you in the near future. In fact, if you own a Samsung smartphone or tablet you may already have it!

There is a lot of momentum around the Internet of Things – both established vertical markets like automotive, health, logistics, metering and security, as well as a yet untapped long tail of new application areas. A key component to enable terminal devices is a connected development platform, and recently ARM and our operator partners Vodafone and Sprint announced 3G modem drivers for the mbed Cortex-M0 & M3 microcontroller core-based prototyping platform, extending the mbed networking capabilities beyond Ethernet and WiFi by also allowing you to connect to a mobile net using an off-the-shelf USB modem. Functionality exposed included SMS, HTTP, NTP and TCP/IP and web sockets, and we expect more to be developed as the library is available in the open domain under the MIT license at mbed.org. Take a look at the IoT demo for some service ideas! Once a prototype has been developed, this can be taken to product together with one of our module partners, such as Sierra Wireless, who provide a lightweight application environment and cellular communication in an integrated module. Beyond enabling device development we are discussing with some key operators around integration with managed services platforms and device management functionality, and we would love to get further operators involved in IoT enablement!

Time to get going soon - see you in Barcelona!

Richard Stamvik, Segment Marketing, ARM, calls on telecom operators and media broadcasters to understand where they are going and how ARM with ecosystem partners can help them get there. Richard has experience in the mobile communications and real-time industries having spent 15 years at Telelogic, Motorola, Ericsson and ST-Ericsson in many different roles. He also, loves using his communications, media and other electronic gadgets for redesigning his house and improving his half marathon record.