Microsoft and Micron Collaborate to Help Improve Internet of Things Security

| Updated
by Polina Chernykh · 3 min read
Microsoft and Micron Collaborate to Help Improve Internet of Things Security
Photo: Gaobo/Flickr

The companies have joined hands to introduce a new technology that is aimed at addressing security issues of the Internet of Things ecosystem.

Microsoft Corp. has announced a partnership with semiconductor producer, Micron Technology, to develop the technology that is expected to enhance the safety of IoT devices. Currently, security is one of the most important issues that slow down the adoption of new technologies like IoT.

The new technology, called Micron Authenta, will enable IoT developers to improve security of their gadgets without using additional hardware parts.

Micron Authenta integrates roots of trust into its flash memory products used in IoT devices to establish trusted link between devices and the Azure IoT cloud. It relies on Microsoft’s Device Identify Composition Engine to ensure that only trusted IoT devices connect to the cloud.

Additionally, the companies will provide software development kits (SDKs) to offer secure IoT cloud management and connectivity for new platforms and items, as well as the ability to retrofit older sensors and devices.

“Microsoft and Micron are collaborating to provide customers with a unified approach to improve IoT security. This capability will speed up adoption of the latest IoT concepts by enabling customers to broaden their IoT connectivity while decreasing the investment of implementation,” said Sam George, partner director of Azure IoT cloud services.

“Combining these technologies will enable critical security competencies to be underpinned at a low-level in both hardware and software so that users can quickly begin to add their value to these solutions without many of the resource burdens that have been repressing innovation in the industry.”

Althouth it was expected that the collaboration will drive Micron stocks up, investors seem to be unsatisfied with the partnership as the company’s shares dropped on Monday after the announcement.

Micron Authenta is among other offerings Microsoft has unveiled recently. A few days ago, the company announced plans to release a new Microsoft IoT Central SaaS solution to simplify IoT management for novices.

The service is targeted at those customers who don’t have much experience with IoT to allow them deploy automation and data gathering capabilities using Windows 10 IoT Core and incorporate them with existing systems. According to Microsoft, the solution will become available in the next few months.

On Monday, Mentor, a Siemens enterprise, announced that it joined Microsoft Azure Certified for Internet of Things (IoT) to let clients use IoT solutions with hardware and software that has been verified to work with Microsoft Azure IoT services.

“Leveraging Mentor’s 20-plus years’ experience in embedded systems, our customers can benefit from a commercial-grade integration of Microsoft Azure with their embedded IoT projects, and have assurance for compatibility now and in the future,” said Scot Morrison, general manager, platform business unit, Mentor Embedded Systems Division.

A group of leading tech companies, including Cisco, Bosch and Gemalto, has partnered earlier this year to develop blockchain protocol for the Internet of Things. With the fast growth of the IoT sector observed today, it will be challenging to support huge IoT ecosystems in the near future. Meantime, blockchain proponents believe that blockchain could solve this issue and provide additional security to IoT applications.

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