An aftermarket connected car device is the first to be certified by CTIA’s IoT Cybersecurity Certification Program, which launched last August to help ensure the increasing number of cellular-connected devices have appropriate security capabilities.
The device, the Harman Spark, is offered exclusively by AT&T and plugs into a vehicle’s OBD-II port to deliver connected capabilities.
Testing was performed in Richardson, Texas at the Ericsson Device and Application Verification (EDAV) lab.
AT&T and Ericsson in September announced the pair would team up on IoT cybersecurity, with Ericsson’s labs providing CTIA’s certification and AT&T making the certification available to businesses through its Professional Services IoT program.
“The EDAV labs will play a critical role in the IoT ecosystem, as Ericsson predicts the number of IoT devices to rapidly expand in the coming years,” said Tomas Ageskog, head of digital services, market area North America at Ericsson, in a statement.
Ericsson’s most recent Mobility Report projects the number of cellular IoT connects to hit 4.1 billion in 2024.
“It’s appropriate that the first device to gain certification through the CTIA’s Cybersecurity Certification Program is HARMAN Spark,” said Cameron Coursey, VP of IoT Solutions at AT&T, in a statement. “This common and readily achievable security program will be critical to the future of safe and secure connected driving.”
According to CTIA, device manufacturers can seek one of three levels of certification through the program, based on how sophisticated the device is and what security characteristics are required or desired for use.
CTIA says the certification program involves verifying the device security features against a set of cybersecurity best practices regarding storage of consumers’ information, password and security management standards and an over-the-air mechanism for security software updates.
“This is a milestone for the CTIA IoT Cybersecurity Certification Program,” said Tom Sawanobori, SVP and CTO of CTIA, in a release. “As we move toward an increasingly connected future, the CTIA IoT Cybersecurity Certification Program and its authorized labs will play a key role in protecting consumers and our wireless networks.”
