WISeKey Launches MegaSync Initiative, a Partnership Program Designed to Increase IoT Security Integration for Appliances and Electronics

GENEVA & ZURICH, Switzerland – December 14, 2017 – WISeKey International Holding Ltd (WIHN.SW) (“WISeKey”), a leading Cybersecurity and IoT company, today announced the launch of MegaSync Initiative, a partnership program designed to provide increased IoT security integration for appliances and electronics.  The MegaSync Initiative is backed by WISeKey’s IoT Patent portfolio of 46 IoT patent families (more than 200 patents in total – https://www.wisekey.com/patents/) and its Cryptographic RootKey Digital Identification patents (http://goo.gl/ozgOQm).

For WISeKey, adding to its patent portfolio and intellectual property is key to ensuring that the Company remains a major player in cybersecurity and IoT for years to come. WISeKey’s platform integrates unique technology that is differentiated, protected and hard to reproduce based on tangible scientific discoveries or engineering innovations. It’s this unique patent portfolio that distinguishes WISeKey from other companies in the space that use commonly available technology.  

Already, much of our “things” are becoming connected one way or another. According to market research firm Gartner, there will be 8.4 billion “things” connected and in use worldwide by the end of  2017, up 31% from 2016. Even more impressive is that according to Gartner, total spending on endpoints and services will reach almost $2 trillion in 2017.

WISeKey’s patents cover a range of technologies for IoT and Semiconductors, particularly those that help make enterprise-level computing services more trusted, reliable and secure. The most notable patent acquisition by WISeKey on IoT and Semiconductors was completed in 2016 through the purchase of new IoT patents from Inside Secure, which created the first ever comprehensive trusted end-to-end cybersecurity platform for people and objects (IoT). Following the acquisition, WISeKey’s cybersecurity offerings include certified hardware & software, system certification, provisioning and up to management of cybersecurity services.  WISeKey’s patented technology opens up tremendous possibilities and industry leadership for WISeKey in terms of certifying, connecting, and insuring objects and storing the ensuing data in a secure and trusted cloud environment. We are now on the threshold of a fourth phase in the evolution of the internet, called The Embedded Internet, a network space where billions of intelligent embedded devices will be connected.

Many countries are already working on what we call “Industry 4” which is the next stage of industrial manufacturing and a paradigm shift toward smart factories which could be the advent of a fourth industrial revolution. So are we in fact on the verge of a fourth revolution with $14.4 trillion of value at stake for companies and industries worldwide.

While IoT remains wildly insecure, thanks to the integrated solution operated by the WISeKey Vertical Platform, IoT devices would be able to organize themselves into trusted networks based on mutual authentication, identity and integrity. This trusted cybersecurity platform will only enable IoT devices which can provide a recognized identity and a valid integrity report to communicate with peer devices that are part of the trusted community.

The ability to authenticate and remotely manage millions of networked, automated devices and equipment is becoming pervasive from factory floors, to hospital operating rooms, to residential homes, and includes  billions of objects and devices from refrigerators, watches, wearables to wine bottles, basically everything that can connect and communicate via the Internet.

During 2017, WISeKey transformed and evolved into a major player in the IoT, Cybersecurity, AI and Blockchain market by fully integrating its cybersecurity and Semiconductors business with add-on acquisitions, and through the development of new IoT IP and patents. In just one year, WISeKey has aggregated over 46 IoT patent families (more than 200 patents in total) to its portfolio (https://www.wisekey.com/patents/) required to power the OISTE/WISeKey RoT into IoT embedded devices with problem-solving AI solutions. WISeKey’s technology enables IoT connected devices which can provide a recognized identity and a valid integrity report to communicate with peer devices within the community. WISeKey offers a range of contact and contactless secure microcontrollers that share consistent secure 8-/16-bit RISC CPU performance, strong security mechanisms, and enhanced crypto engines to optimize performance and power consumption. The products also provide high-density, low-power EEPROM technologies. Designed to meet the most stringent security requirements, many of these products are EAL5+ Common Criteria security-certified.

This new capability will enable authenticated sensor data. Currently, most IoT devices are not built with embedded secure systems, which makes these devices vulnerable to exploits. By integrating AI into the IoT hardware and platform, objects connected to the Vertical Platform can develop their own cybersecurity behavior and make smarter and safer decisions.

Objects secured with these IoT chips produce a huge amount of Big Data that when analyzed with AI can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.  The WISeKey platform allows the IoT device equipped with these chips to send authenticated data to the cloud using a dual factor authentication at the device level. Imagine a smartcard sending authenticated data from each component of the car to predict when these parts will require maintenance and to digitally sign all the logs required to prove that service was provided. This platform which can be used in different industrial applications allows optimized productivity across industries through predictive maintenance on equipment and machinery, creates truly smart homes with connected appliances and provides critical communication between devices including self-driving cars and smart homes. The possibilities that IoT brings to the table are endless.

Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey, said: “This new platform opens up many possibilities for improving the overall security functionalities and creating new business processes by taking advantage of the world of digital identification at the object level, which once combined with Big Data allows us to gather and process all available information and generate actionable insights.”

“It’s been one year since our R&D teams joined forces to integrate our chip technology within the WISeKey IoT platform. The feedback and support we are getting from various major players in the IoT ecosystem to whom we have presented our offer, including network operators, device manufacturers, data integrators, and AI technology providers, has been amazing.  There is a consensus among them that security breach is a massive problem and safe and reliable solutions are needed. They all acknowledge that our Root-to-Chip platform is the right solution to efficiently resolve these problems,” added Bernard Vian, General Manager of WISeKey Semiconductors.

About WISeKey:
WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems with a patented process. WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (“RoT”) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

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