Amazon Web Services and semiconductor technology company Microchip Technology are developing a new solution to protect the Internet of Things.
The companies have teamed up to create a provisioning platform and secure chip to help firms make IoT operations and products safer, the EE Times reports.
While IoT is growing, security is becoming more challenging. In particular, it can be daunting to implement protection around cloud integration and device communication.
Companies commonly struggle when it comes to assigning and managing public decryption keys and device authentication certificates. There are just so many components.
A secure solution
Microchip has designed new hardware to simplify IoT solutions running on AWS, a range of cloud services and on-demand computing solutions for enterprises. It provides end-to-end IoT security for the platform.
What sets Microchip’s solution apart is the fact it’s small and secure. In module form, it’s been designed to work specifically with the AWS platform. The company will be responsible for validating and authenticating devices.
The aim is to ensure users are protected from counterfeit criminals or uncertified devices, which would otherwise have a detrimental effect on security. Microchip’s device focuses on root certification.
Partnering
As an AWS partner, it’ll also provide companies interested in AWS integration with development kits and solutions for test and pilot purposes. This, Amazon and Microchip say, will further the position of AWS.
Nuri Dagdeviren, vice president and general manager of secure products at Microchip-owned subsidiary Atmel, said device authentication and security can be complex but it’s working to simplify things for companies.
“We understand the often complex nature of implementing AWS mutual authentication in microcontrollers. The customer would need to have some understanding of how to secure a software implementation, and this often creates a huge barrier,” he said.
“We have had a long standing relationship with AWS and are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the world’s largest cloud provider to build a solution that helps our customers easily and securely connect to the AWS Cloud.”
Security is essential
Marco Argenti, vice president of mobile and IoT at Amazon Web Services, said: “We have a strong relationship with Microchip and we are very excited to be able to offer a world-class solution to anyone who wishes to deploy secure and scalable IoT solutions on our cloud services.
“For all companies we work with, embracing security best practices are an essential step in achieving our mutual goal of offering customers the best and most secure IoT platform available. We believe this new solution will be one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways for our customers to comply with our security best practices.”
Related: Microsoft trumps security as biggest obstacle to enterprise IoT adoption