GlobalPlatform, the standard for secure digital services and devices, has conservatively calculated that more than 5.5 billion Secure Elements (SEs) deployed in 2017 were based on its specifications, an increase of over 1.5 billion from the previous year. Additionally, over the last three years, in excess of 1 billion SEs were embedded within mobile devices, 100% of which were based on GlobalPlatform technology.

“Trust is fundamental to the success of the IoT ecosystem and each device – edge, fog or cloud – must be protected appropriately,” comments GlobalPlatform’s Technical Director, Gil Bernabeu. “These figures highlight the importance of GlobalPlatform’s specifications and certification programs and the central role the organization is playing in enabling the protection of devices and digital service for all markets.”

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. A core focus of GlobalPlatform’s work is the standardization and interoperability of application management within secure components, specifically SEs and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). SE and TEE technologies are now widely-deployed across a range of markets including payments, telecoms, transportation, automotive, IoT, government and enterprise ID.

To enable device manufacturers to proactively market their products as meeting the needs of digital service providers, GlobalPlatform manages afunctional certification program for SEs. This objectively illustrates that a device manufacturer’s GlobalPlatform-based secure component and digital service management capabilities are interoperable and meet required security levels, providing reassurance that the digital service can perform as intended in the field.

With analysts projecting that cyberattacks will cost the world up to $6 trillion annually by 2021, Executive Director Kevin Gillick adds: “We understand, and can respond to, the challenges facing today’s digital world because of the collaboration at the heart of GlobalPlatform. Our technology is developed by combining the knowledge of our extensive membership and numerous standards bodies and organizations across the world. Threats evolve, but by standardizing foundational security infrastructures, we can react quickly with cost effective, interoperable solutions that benefit service providers, application developers and manufacturers.”