The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly transforming our world, with billions of connected devices generating and consuming data at an unprecedented rate. IoT devices, spanning everything from tiny sensors to medical devices, are at the heart of this revolution. However, their prevalence, scaled down nature, and resource constraints often leave them vulnerable to cyberattacks. This is where the partnership between Unikie and Keyfactor comes in, offering to secure the edge and protect IoT devices.
The challenge: Securing the vulnerable edge
Embedded IoT devices present unique security challenges. Unlike traditional computing systems, they often have limited processing power, memory, and operating systems. They also often lack proper lifecycle management, security updates, physical device security, etc. This makes it difficult to implement robust security measures. Additionally, the vast and diverse nature of these devices makes it challenging to manage and update their security configurations centrally.
A partnership combining forces for IoT Security
Unikie and Keyfactor have joined forces to provide comprehensive security for embedded IoT devices. This partnership leverages the strengths of both companies:
- Unikie: A leading provider of embedded cybersecurity services, Unikie offers a range of solutions for securing devices throughout their lifecycle, from design and development to deployment and management. Unikie’s expertise lies in secure boot, roots of trust, hardening, virtualization, and lifecycle management.
- Keyfactor: the identity-first security solution for modern enterprises, provides tools for managing and securing digital identities across the entire IT and IoT landscape. Its offerings include secure provisioning, certificate lifecycle management, and code signing.
With their partnership, Unikie and Keyfactor offer a multi-layered approach to security that addresses the unique challenges of embedded IoT devices. Here’s how it works:
- Securing devices: Unikie establishes a secure foundation for the device by implementing a secure boot process and root of trust technology. This ensures that only authorized software can run on the device and protects against unauthorized modifications.
- Strong authentication and identity management: Keyfactor provides the technology for secure provisioning of digital identities for devices and users. This includes issuing and managing certificates, tokens, and other credentials used for authentication and authorization.
- Integration services for Keyfactor solutions: Unikie is a selected partner of Keyfactor for integration of certificate generation and identity management solutions to various devices with different operating system and hardware setup.
- Lifecycle management: Both Unikie and Keyfactor offer tools for managing the security of devices throughout their lifecycle. This includes secure updates, vulnerability management, and end-of-life decommissioning.
- Signing Solutions: Keyfactor offers flexible and secure digital signing solutions, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of code, software, and containers across your software supply chain.
Benefits of the partnership
The partnership between Unikie and Keyfactor offers several key benefits for IoT device OEMs:
- Reduced risk of cyberattacks: By implementing robust security measures, OEMs can significantly reduce the risk of cyberattacks on their embedded devices.
- Improved compliance: The solution helps OEMs comply with industry regulations and data privacy laws.
- Simplified management: The combined offering provides platforms for managing the security of all devices, simplifying operations, and reducing costs.
- Enhanced scalability: The solution can be easily scaled to accommodate a growing number of devices.
- Future-proof security: The partnership leverages cutting-edge technologies and embedded cybersecurity best practices to ensure that devices remain secure as threats evolve.
Securing the future of IoT
The partnership between Unikie and Keyfactor represents a significant step forward in securing the future of IoT devices. By combining their expertise in embedded cybersecurity and identity management, they offer a comprehensive offering that addresses the unique challenges of embedded devices. As the IoT continues to grow, this partnership will play a vital role in protecting our connected world from cyber threats.
“PKI and certificates are crucial, but just one facet of secure devices. By utilizing Unikie’s expertise and embedded software engineering services, our customers get the most out of their PKI with the peace of mind that their devices benefit from security by design,” says Rodney Weaver, Sr. Business Development Manager, IoT, at Keyfactor.
Markus Jakobsson, Head of Devices & IoT at Unikie, explains the benefits of the partnership: “For issuing and managing digital identities of devices, machines and vehicles, we recommend our customers to integrate proven products instead of building home-grown solutions. Using Keyfactor technology, we can quickly deploy a working solution that simplifies the management of certificates and credentials and ensures a robust security.”
Additional information:
Markus Jakobsson, Segment Lead, Devices & IoT, Networks & Communication, Unikie
markus.jakobsson@unikie.com, +358 400 749 835
https://www.unikie.com/
Rodney Weaver, Sr. Business Development Manager, IoT
rodney.weaver@keyfactor.com
https://www.keyfactor.com/
