u-blox secures the IoT with Kudelski

Republished from the u-blox Technology Magazine, No. 6 - November 2018

By joining forces with Kudelski, u-blox is setting a new industry benchmark for premium-grade, secure connectivity.

With Gartner analysts predicting a whopping 20 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices to be connected by 2020, it’s hardly a surprise that IoT security has become a prime concern of IoT device manufacturers and cellular network operators. While the IoT promises new features, new business models, operational efficiencies, and data-driven insights, organizations – both ours and, presumably, yours – must take the measures necessary to protect the pillars of their business, including monetization, safety, privacy, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, and reputation.This IoT security challenge offered us an exciting opportunity - how do we make Trust and Integrity simple for our customers? Grabbing the bull by the horns, we decided to partner with the Swiss-based Kudelski Group, a world leader in digital security, with more than 30 years of expertise in protecting devices, data, and digital business models.

“At u-blox, we provide premium products – and security is no exception,” said Andreas Thiel, u-blox co-founder and executive director, Product Center Cellular. “Combining our leading wireless communication technology with the Kudelski IoT Security Suite lets our customers benefit from our combined expertise and experience in dealing with high-volume, security-sensitive environments. Security is fundamental to the success of any business, and that’s why we are delighted to build our security services with an experienced and proven security partner such as Kudelski.”

u-blox and Kudelski teams are now hard at work integrating the Kudelski IoT into a number of u-blox products, with a focus on low power wide area (LPWA) technology. With Kudelski’s security technology at the heart of our chips and modules, they provide a secure foundation for device protection, data protection, access management, and active security over the entire lifespan of the product they are built into.

“IoT projects can only achieve their objectives if security is designed in from the start, and a long-term, security lifecycle management approach is taken,” said Jean-Michel Puiatti, senior vice president of IoT security at Kudelski. “u-blox has pioneered positioning, connectivity, and short range communications solutions that underpin the connected Internet of Things. By establishing this relationship with them, we will work together to enable business owners to securely drive new business models, features, efficiency, and data analytics.”