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TelecomsTalk | March 29, 2024

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Sigma Designs Announces Advanced IoT Security Measures for the Smart Home

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New Z-Wave SDK with Security 2 Framework eliminates common “man-in-the-middle” attacks and is virtually un-hackable

Sigma Designs® (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider of intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for Smart TV and Internet of Things (IoT) for Smart Home, today announced the details of the Z-Wave Security 2 (S2) framework available in the Version 6.7 software development kit. The security measures in S2 will provide the most advanced security for smart home devices and controllers, gateways and hubs in the market today.

Gartner predicts 21 billion IoT devices will be in the market by 2020 and the burgeoning IoT market will be sensitive to security as the sheer number of connected devices means more attack vectors and more possibilities for hackers. According to Parks Associates, 40% of consumers are concerned with the safety and security of their smart home devices, especially door locks and access control systems.

Z-Wave has long been recognized for its robust AES 128 encryption, adopted by all major residential lock manufacturers and virtually all monitored security companies in the US. Z-Wave’s new S2 framework takes security to new levels of impenetrability by securing communication not just locally for home-based devices but also in the gateway which is accessed from the cloud. Z-Wave completely removes the vulnerability of the network during inclusion by requiring a QR code or a pin-code on the device itself. With S2, attacks such as man in the middle and brute force are rendered powerless by the implementation of Industry-wide accepted secure key exchange using Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH). For customers implementing IoT Cloud solutions and connecting Z-Wave to the other IP devices, the Z/IP Gateway enables tunneling all Z/IP traffic through a secure TLS 1.1 tunnel, eliminating cloud vulnerability.

“With leading market share in smart security panels and over 50 million devices in the IoT market today, we felt we had a responsibility to put extensive resources into arming Z-Wave devices with the most secure communication framework possible,” said Raoul Wijgergangs, vice president Z-Wave IoT business unit at Sigma Designs. “The need for technology providers to take a leadership role in IoT security exists in a big way, and Sigma is embracing that role.”

Key Features of Z-Wave security:
• Strong AES 128
• Industry-wide accepted secure key exchange using Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH)
• Authenticated deploymentsremoves “man-in-the-middle” attack vector
• Tunneling all Z/IP traffic through a secure TLS 1.1 tunnel eliminates cloud vulnerability
In addition to the quantum leap in security, the new 6.7 SDK also optimizes battery life, improves reliability and reduces latency by using a single command structure replacing the previous 3-step process. As with all upgrades to the Z-Wave protocol, it will be backwards compatible with every device in the existing Z-Wave ecosystem, allowing all earlier protocol versions to act as repeaters in the network.

“In addition to our internal work, we have submitted the S2 framework to the rigorous scrutiny of third party security advisors and we will continue to invite ongoing challenges, “continued Wijgergangs, vice president Z-Wave IoT business unit at Sigma Designs. “The combination of rock-solid interoperable technology with world class security will continue to remove barriers and encourage adoption in this growing IoT environment.”

The new SDK will be available in Beta in February.

For more information about Sigma Designs, visit www.sigmadesigns.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @sigma_designs
Join us on LinkedIn: sigma-designs

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