ARM wants to do its part to help lock down the Internet of Things (IoT).
The recent high-profile Jeep hack has put a spotlight on the potential dangers of IoT security vulnerabilities. Suddenly, discussion has turned from IoT’s massive market potential to its risks and shortcomings.
Before billions of smart, connected devices light up the IoT over the next few years – a process well underway – ARM is seeking to make its mobile chip designs more resistant to hackers.
ARM announced last week that it had acquired Sansa Security, an IoT software and hardware security specialist based in Israel, for an undisclosed amount. Sansa’s tech can be found in Android devices from Samsung, LG and Sony among other vendors. According to Sansa, each year its intellectual property (IP) helps secure over 150 million devices.
The deal builds on several months of IoT-related launches and deal-making. In February, ARM acquired Offspark, a provider of encrypted IoT communications technology. Later that same month, the company launched its mbed IoT Starter Kit – Ethernet Edition, enabling device makers to securely connect their wares to the IBM Bluemix cloud.
For ARM, the buy turns the chip designer into a one-stop shop for both IoT processors and security solutions, according Mike Muller, CTO of ARM.
“Protection against hackers works best when it is multi-layered, so we are extending our security technology capability into hardware subsystems and trusted software,” said Muller in a statement. “This means our partners will be able to license a comprehensive security suite from a single source.”
Sansa’s innovations include hardware components that isolate security operations from a device’s main processor. Running in trusted execution environments, the company’s software helps secure content and data as it is processed. Sansa’s IP will help reinforce ARM’s own integrated TrustZone technology to provide added protection against malware, ARM said.
“Our technology is already being used to protect data gathered and transmitted by a multitude of IoT and mobile devices,” noted Sansa’s CEO, Coby Sella, in a statement. “Joining ARM will enable us to scale the business by helping ARM’s global technology partners to address their most pressing security needs.”
Hacking connected cars aside, businesses have reason to nip IoT security concerns in the bud.
A recent study from Dallas-based IT outsourcing company CompuCom revealed that 44 percent of IT pros cited a potential rise in cyberattacks as their top IoT concern. Somewhat related, 28 percent of those polled by the company said they were wary of data privacy and the risk sensitive personal information slipping out of the grasp of IoT systems.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science
FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021
FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI
FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality
FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020
Datamation is the leading industry resource for B2B data professionals and technology buyers. Datamation's focus is on providing insight into the latest trends and innovation in AI, data security, big data, and more, along with in-depth product recommendations and comparisons. More than 1.7M users gain insight and guidance from Datamation every year.
Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on Datamation and our other data and technology-focused platforms.
Advertise with Us
Property of TechnologyAdvice.
© 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved
Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this
site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives
compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products
appear on this site including, for example, the order in which
they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies
or all types of products available in the marketplace.