Solution making it easy to add Matter and security to smart home devices

Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the OPTIGA Trust M MTR. The Matter-certified Secure Element is the latest configuration of its OPTIGA Trust M, combined with a Matter provisioning service.

According to ABI Research forecasts, the number of smart home devices will double by 2030, reaching about 1.7 billion worldwide. All these devices have to connect securely and reliably with each other and different smart home ecosystems. That is where the Matter standard comes into play, enabling smooth interoperability across connected devices from various companies. The Matter protocol defines a set of principles that support uniform security and privacy measures for the smart home since they rely on smart devices to increase comfort, efficiency, and security.

"When we designed the Matter protocol in the Connectivity Standards Alliance, we were committed to building in strong security," said Steve Hanna, distinguished engineer at Infineon and leader of the standards teams that defined Matter's security. "That's why Matter brings new security features to the smart home, some of which were challenging for IoT product designers. Infineon's OPTIGA Trust M MTR addresses those challenges head-on so that now it can be even easier to build a Matter product."

The tamper-resistant security controller can be readily integrated into a system to perform security-related functions and provide high protection for sensitive data and cryptographic operations. As a discrete Secure Element, it can be incorporated into any MCU-based design to improve security and handle multiple product protocols simultaneously. This gives original equipment manufacturers greater flexibility and permits faster time to market.

According to the Matter protocol, every smart home device must have a Device Attestation Certificate (DAC) containing the Product ID (PID) and the Vendor ID (VID) to verify the authenticity and trustworthiness of each device commissioned in the Matter ecosystem. With OPTIGA Trust M MTR, the PID is no longer required to be defined in advance when the reel is ordered or manufactured. Instead, each device receives a personalised DAC injection at a later point until the start of device production. This gives manufacturers more flexibility in producing multiple product variants of smart home devices.

OPTIGA Trust M MTR Secure Elements are pre-provisioned at a Common Criteria-certified Infineon facility. The batch of Secure Elements on a reel is shipped with an associated barcode. The customer claims ownership of these chips on the IoT portal of the company's partner, Kudelski IoT, by scanning the barcode. Kudelski IoT is a trusted and established Product Attestation Authority (PAA) approved by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Kudelski IoT will allow the download of production DACs corresponding to the vendor and the product. Finally, the personalised DAC is transferred to the OPTIGA Trust M MTR at the factory level.

Samples of OPTIGA Trust M MTR are available now together with the OPTIGA Trust M MTR Shield for easy evaluation and design-in.