u-blox will strengthen the security of IoT ecosystems built upon its dedicated LTE-M and NB-IoT chipset by implementing a key set of security features endorsed by the GSMA. Support for the IoT SAFE (IoT SIM applet for secure end-to-end communication) implementation guide will be included in a software maintenance release for u-blox devices based on the UBX-R5 chipset, such as the new SARA-R5 series in 2020.
The SARA-R5 series is a 5G-ready, software-configurable family of IoT devices that support LTE-M and NB-IoT communications over multiple radio bands. It includes a secure element, certified to the Common Criteria EAL5+ High security assurance standard, which also acts as a hardware root of trust (RoT) for processes such as authentication and encryption.
The GSMA launched the IoT SAFE recommendation in December 2019. It enables IoT device manufacturers and service providers to use a SIM as a robust and scalable hardware RoT to protect IoT data communications. This will make it easier to securely establish a (D)TLS session with an application cloud/server, simplifying the process of provisioning and managing millions of IoT devices.
