Oct 21, 2021Presented here are recent news announcements regarding the following organizations: HID Global, Microsoft, STMicroelectronics, Sierra Wireless, Nedap, Insight SiP, Energous XO2Tech and ELATEC.
HID Cloud-based Platform Enables Microsoft Certificate Automation
HID Global, a provider of trusted identity solutions, has announced that it has simplified certificate automation for any Microsoft Active Directory-managed network devices with its PKI-as-a-Service (PKIaaS) platform. Customers can issue, renew, replace or revoke certificates automatically with Microsoft Autoenrollment, now that any device on the network can be connected via the platform. According to HID, automating the issuance of enterprise public or private trusted digital certificates through a single platform reduces the risk of certificate mismanagement and associated outages. The PKIaaS platform, with native support for the Microsoft Autoenrollment protocol, is available as a subscription service.
The PKIaaS platform is designed to eliminate manual, risk-prone processes for tracking, installing and renewing certificates, the company reports, and to provide a single, secure cloud-based platform for all certificate needs. HID says it has simplified the process of integrating Active Directory-managed network devices with PKIaaS to automate certificate lifecycles. The platform's out-of-the-box integration and Account Certificate Manager enable customers to centrally manage all device certificates across the entire enterprise, either manually or through Active Directory or a Mobile Device Management Platform, and whether they are issued automatically or manually.
Microsoft Active Directory has a 44 percent share of the market for identity- and access-management solutions, HID reports. Providing integration and automation support for it in the PKIaaS, the company explains, removes the need for agent-based certificate distribution and automation. In addition to Microsoft Autoenrollment, PKIaaS supports various prebuilt integrations with standards-based certificate-management protocols, including Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol, Enrollment over Secure Transport and Automated Certificate Management Environment. It also provides RESTful application programming interfaces to be integrated with third-party tools for certificate orchestration and automation.
PKIaaS's Auto Enrollment connector acts as a proxy and connects with Microsoft Active Directory for any certificate request that makes outbound connection to the PKIaaS platform for certificate issuance or updates. There is no need to update firewall configuration for inbound connection, the company notes, since it only makes an outbound connection at port 443. There is also no agent or other configuration change required at the individual device level, enabling customers to leverage existing technology deployments and infrastructure. Use cases range from securing websites and email communications to digitizing paper-based processes using digital certificates and securing network end points or connected machines.
STMicroelectronics, Sierra Wireless Collaborate on IoT Solutions
Semiconductor company STMicroelectronics and Internet of Things (IoT) services provider Sierra Wireless have announced an agreement that will enable the STM32 microcontroller (MCU) user community to leverage flexible cellular IoT connectivity and edge-to-cloud solutions from Sierra Wireless. The agreement is intended to help solution developers tackle the diverse challenges involved with creating and deploying IoT solutions, including device design and development, enrollment with a cellular network and connection to cloud services.
"Sierra Wireless brings a rich portfolio of cellular connectivity and cloud-service solutions to the STM32 ecosystem that enable us, together, to provide a complete end-to-end solution for connected IoT," said Ricardo de sa Earp, the group VP and general manager of STMicroelectronics' Microcontrollers Division, in a prepared statement. "Our STM32 MCUs and ecosystem, combined with connectivity services and device-to-cloud software from Sierra, creates an offer of greater depth, capability, and useability than any other on the market today."
"This collaboration with STMicroelectronics delivers customers a ready-to-use solution to solve the IoT deployment challenges they face, from provisioning custom hardware to configuring and connecting turnkey modules as quickly as they need," added Jim Ryan, Sierra Wireless's senior VP of partnerships, marketing, and IoT solutions, in the prepared statement. "Sierra Wireless is bringing its world-class IoT connectivity solutions to the industry-leading STM32 ecosystem, so that customers developing a wide range of IoT solutions using STM32 MCUs will now be able to easily build solutions with cellular connectivity."
The STM32 family of MCUs provide IoT security including cryptography, secure firmware installation and update, secure boot, and resistance to side-channel attacks. It includes product lines designed for ultra-low-power consumption, along with wireless MCUs that integrate long-range modulation, as well as Bluetooth 5.2 and 802.15.4 radios on-chip. The STM32Cube ecosystem provides development tools and middleware, and the company offers evaluation boards and development kits to accelerate prototyping.
Nedap Launches RFID Platform for Supply Chain Visibility
Nedap has announced the launch of its iD Cloud platform, an integrated suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions built for RFID technology. iD Cloud allows retailers and brands to boost inventory visibility with zero waste and no losses, the company claims, by tracking every unique item movement throughout the supply chain and collecting data in a cloud-based inventory repository, whether in-store, at a distribution center or through loss-prevention efforts. iD Cloud is a scalable enterprise platform that gathers EPC inventory data and unique item lifespan histories to provide inventory visibility via RFID.
Denim brand G-Star RAW is among Nedap's retail brands that have implemented the iD Cloud platform during the past six months. "As a brand, you must integrate e-commerce and traditional retail to create a seamless shopping experience for today's hyper-connected consumer," said Barry van Wijk, G-Star RAW's head of retail operations, in a prepared statement. "We have clearly seen a change in the traditional role of stores. They used to be the go-to spot to try and buy denim, but the actual purchase isn't necessarily made in stores anymore these days. Stores are transforming into an even more important asset to give shoppers a full omnichannel brand experience as we now also use them as mini-distribution centers. This enables our customers to pick up an item they have just purchased online or have it delivered to them within a day."
"We're very excited about the official launch of the wider iD Cloud platform, as we envision that every retailer creates perfect inventory visibility with zero waste and no losses,'' added Oscar van den Broek, Nedap's managing director, in the prepared statement. ''Supply chain visibility is more important than ever. The iD Cloud solution started in-store, and we're proud to now offer retailers a complete end-to-end platform.'' The platform comprises four specialized solutions: iD Cloud Store, which digitalizes in-store stock management; iD Cloud Supply Chain, which focuses on supply chain automation; iD Cloud Loss Prevention, enabling data-driven loss prevention; and iD Cloud Omnichannel, integrated with online order-management systems.
"iD Cloud as you know it is now rebranded to iD Cloud Store, a small change but important as the family of applications and services on our platform will now be expanded towards the supply chain, omnichannel and loss prevention," says Robin van Stenis, Nedap's director of global marketing. "We're very excited about the official launch of the wider iD Cloud platform, an integrated suite of SaaS solutions purposefully built for RFID technology." He adds, "The platform has now been deployed in over 10,000 stores across the globe, which makes iD Cloud the fastest-growing RFID platform available today. Next to the existing store solution, we are introducing three new cloud-based RFID solutions on top of the new iD Cloud platform."
Insight SiP Expands Its IoT Security Program
Insight SiP, a provider of miniature RF modules with integrated antennas, has announced that it has obtained financing from the French government and the country's southern regional government as part of the Regional Investment Program for the Future, enabling it to develop its IoT security program. Secure data transmission and robust authentication are major issues in increasingly technology-based societies, Insight SiP explains. These issues are pertinent to the Internet of Things, the firm notes, for which security has typically not been a prime concern. Sensitive data is being increasingly transmitted, such as medical or financial systems with safety implications.
To meet this challenge, Insight SiP has been engaged in a development program to create secure RF modules. These system-in-package-based devices measure a few millimeters in size. In addition to RF and standard microprocessor components, they integrate a Secure Element component that 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 (since keys cannot be read once they're stored) and hardware protection.
The Secure Element is protected against microscopic hardware-probing and hacking techniques. Typical IoT systems provide link-level security. For example, the company explains, it is difficult to spy on Bluetooth radio transmissions, but few systems provide secure end-to-end connections, making it relatively easy to find gaps in the security chain to spy on and/or inject malicious code into them.
"On behalf of the company, I would like to thank the French state and Southern region for their support for this program," said Michel Beghin, Insight SiP's president, in a prepared statement. "I am convinced that thanks to their support Insight SUP will be able to offer the world's first ultra-secure miniature RF modules."
Energous Gains FCC Approval for OTA Wireless Charging
Energous, which developed WattUp wireless charging 2.0 technology, has announced that its 900 MHz 1-watt Active Energy Harvesting transmitter technology has received a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Part 15 grant of equipment authorization for wireless power transfer at any distance. This approval is in addition to a similar wireless charging approval in Europe, announced in May 2021, expanding WattUp's ecosystem reach, including customers, OEM partners and standards organizations.
"This FCC certification of our Active Energy Harvesting transmitter technology marks the latest recognition of our efforts to further the regulatory pathway for far-field wireless power networks," said Cesar Johnston, Energous's acting CEO, in a prepared statement. "Our WattUp Active Energy Harvesting solution provides U.S. and European developers [with] an approved wireless charging option when designing the power networks needed to cost-effectively and efficiently deploy IoT sensors, low-power CPUs and other devices."
The transmitter can charge multiple devices at once, Energous explains, enabling over-the-air charging for the growing ecosystem of Internet of Things devices, such as retail sensors, electronic shelf labels and industrial devices. The technology can be deployed as a mesh network to support power transfer for IoT devices over any distances, the firm reports. The solution includes a DA4100 wireless power transmitter system-on-chip (SoC), a DA3210 power amplifier, a DA14682 SmartBond Bluetooth SoC and a single-feed antenna design.
"Managing and maintaining battery-based BLE beacons is one of the biggest impediments to the acceleration of BLE IoT technology adoption," added Bob Friday, the VP and chief technology officer of Juniper Networks' AI-Driven Enterprise Business, in the prepared statement. "Energy-harvesting, batteryless BLE beacons bring a whole new option to the IoT wireless toolbox. Energous's Active Energy Harvesting transmitting technology is going to significantly increase their range, enabling these energy-harvesting beacons to work with typical Wi-Fi/BLE deployments in enterprises, and open the door to a whole new range of IoT use cases."
XO2Tech Unveils RF Refrigeration/Cooking System
XO2Tech has announced its Refrigerated + UV Light + RF Microwave/Oven, designed to let users refrigerate items inside their microwave oven with the option of then activating the oven via a smartphone or timer. According to Edward Espinosa, the company's founder, this function enables users to cook or warm refrigerated food items or meals for children, senior citizens or family members.
The system is intended to help users better manage mealtimes, whether at home, in transit or at a designated or AI-determined time, Espinosa says, "when everyone is available and sending meal-text-notices." It can include an ultraviolet light function to sterilize or disinfect home or personal items, containers or food. The Refrigerated + UV Light + RF Microwave/Oven can use RF tags—either radio frequency identification or Bluetooth—to automatically read refrigeration and cooking values, and to determine levels of food freshness or spoilage.
ELATEC Commissions Technology Report on Workplace Security
ELATEC has commissioned a technology report from SecurityInformed.com editor Larry Anderson that discusses applications related to facility security and physical access control. The author highlights five ways in which choosing the right RFID reader technology can promote workplace security. According to the report, every component of a security system, including an RFID reader, serves a vital role in workplace security, and a chain of protection is only as strong as its weakest link.
Thus, choosing the right RFID reader for any application is a basic consideration to ensure that reader functionality promotes overall security. RFID is a simple, secure and convenient access-control solution for end users and original equipment manufacturers, the document explains. RFID readers are available in numerous devices requiring user authentication, authorization and access control, ranging from doors to multifunction printers to point-of-sale terminals to computers and more, while RFID reader-writers come with a broad range of form factors, capabilities and configurations. You can read the technology report here.
