Insight SIP announces additional development of its IoT security program, in partnership with the French Southern Region Future Investment program.
Sophia Antipolis, France, 14 October 2021
Insight SIP, the specialist in miniature RF modules with integrated antennas, announced today that it has obtained financing from the French government and Southern regional Government as part of the “Regional Investment Program for the Future” enabling it to further develop its IoT security program.
Secure data transmission and robust authentication are major issues in our increasingly technology-based societies. These issues are particularly pertinent in the domain of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) where security has typically not been a prime concern. Increasingly, sensitive data is being transmitted i.e. medical or financial or systems with safety implications are being connected.
To meet this challenge, Insight SIP, a global leader in miniature connected objects, has been engaged in an ambitious development program to created secure RF modules.
These System-in-Package based devices are just a few millimetres in dimension. In addition to RF and standard microprocessor components, they also integrate a Secure Element component. This additional component includes its own microprocessor and private memory, so that secure functions such as encryption, authentication and key storage can be sealed inside a “secure zone”. This provides both software protection, for instance keys cannot be read once stored, and hardware protection. The Secure Element is protected against microscopic hardware probing or advanced hacking techniques.
Typical IOT systems provide “link level” security. For example, it is hard to “spy” on Bluetooth radio transmissions, but few systems provide secure end-to-end connections. This makes it is relatively easy to find “gaps” in the security chain to spy on and/or inject malicious code into them.
Insight SIP has previously secured support for this program via the European level Eureka/Eurostars program. The next phase is supported by the French government-financed Southern Region Future Investment program (“Programme d’Investissement d’Avenir Régionalisé de la Région Sud”), through a state backed bond of 460 k€.
Renaud MUSELIER, President of the Provence-Alpes Cote d’Azur (PACA) region said “Insight SIP has demonstrated a consistent capability to deliver innovative R+D projects since its inception. Their new project has the goal of offering a secure solution for new communications networks of large numbers of connected objects. This program clearly aligns with the Regions’ objectives in “Smart Tech”, and development of core technologies. It will have a significant effect on the development of the business, leading to revenue growth and continue to provide high skilled employment in the region. Insight SIP is today a technical and market leader in IOT, and we are proud to have such a company based in the PACA region.
Christophe Mirmand, Prefet of the PACA region and Prefet of Bouche-du-Rhone said “The project proposed by Insight SIP is clearly aligned with the selection criteria of the “Program for Future Investment and Innovation” and the three national priorities, which are
- Support of research and training to foster innovation
- Exploit the results of research to spread innovation
- Accelerate the development of companies four which innovation is a key driver of growth.
The “BEGO” project will allow the company to enhance its unique capabilities and increase the value-add of its products and services in a growth market.
