ARM, Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient on Tuesday created a joint venture dedicated to delivering a secure, accessible environment for advanced services running on the growing range of connected devices, such as smartphones, tablets, smart-TVs and games consoles. All three companies are investing to accelerate adoption of a common security standard and create an ecosystem that will take services to the next level.

Security is critical for companies that wish to do business over connected devices and provide the rich, seamless services that consumers expect. The joint venture, which is subject to regulatory approval, will provide a secure environment for a new wave of advanced services to flourish, based on easy to use, accessible and consistent device security. Technology developed by the joint venture will be based on established solutions from the founding companies. It will provide a practical solution for manufacturers to deliver devices that enable services with a new level of trust, which is expected to turn into faster, more secure and richer access to the services.

"The integration of the hardware, software and services necessary for system-wide security has been slow. I am confident that this new joint venture will accelerate the adoption of a common security standard, enabling a vibrant ecosystem of secure service providers to emerge. This will be of significant step in terms of improved consumer trust in secure transactions on connected devices," said Warren East, chief executive officer of ARM.

The new venture will focus on improving security for smart connected devices by developing a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) based on the established ARM TrustZone security technology already implemented into wide range of Cortex-A-series microprocessor technologies. This common, secure environment for software execution will utilize advanced hardware security coupled with industry standard software interfaces, such as those from the GlobalPlatform industry association. By providing this secure environment for multiple silicon, software and device manufacturing partners, the joint venture will enable greater operational efficiency across the ecosystem and the industry as a whole.

Devices with a TEE will provide consumers with more secure, user-friendly experiences that simplify and speed up how they interact with their digital world. This will enable them to use their smart, connected devices more frequently to access an increasing range of applications and services in a secure way. This includes mobile payment, enterprise productivity and mobile banking applications, as well as online commerce and premium content services.

Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient are both leading companies and long-standing ARM partners that offer security solutions to governments and for the financial and mobile industries. Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient have agreed to contribute their respective software expertise to the joint venture. This will accelerate standardization and interoperability, based on industry standards, to ensure that existing customer investments are future-proofed. All three companies will contribute assets to the new venture, including patents, software, people, cash and capital equipment. ARM will own 40% of the joint venture, with Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient each owning 30%.

The new company will take on the responsibilities to existing customers of MobiCore and Trusted Logic Mobility’s Trusted Foundations software. Trusted Logic Mobility is a Gemalto company.

Tags: ARM, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, TrustZone, Trusted Execution Environment, TEE