Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland and Phoenix (AZ), USA – September 3. 2020 – The Kudelski Group (SIX: KUD.S), the world leader in digital security, today announced that it has become an Amazon-authorized, third-party test lab for Alexa Built-in devices. These devices include speakers, headphones, vehicles, lighting, cameras, switches, and other accessories and connected devices.
Increasing consumer privacy concerns for all connected devices make it critical for device manufacturers to get best-in-class validation of the level of security of their solution. Kudelski brings decades of device testing and certification expertise to implementers of Amazon Voice Services in speakers, headphones, vehicles and other connected devices.
Between 2020 and 2023, the number of digital voice assistant-enabled devices is expected to double from 4.08 billion to 8 billion, according to Statista[1]. Providing adquate, well-tested security of all connected products plays a key role in ensuring these products are successful and that customer demand for them is not impeded by privacy concerns. For this reason, Amazon has established a clear set of requirements[2] to support manufacturers in securely implementing AVS. Key among these requirements is the need to engage an independent security expert to conduct an in-depth security review of each Alexa Built-in device that they must then submit to Amazon for certification.
For more than 20 years, Kudelski labs have been conducting security research, security assessments and security certifications of digital systems. Through thousands of evaluations, the labs have developed a wide range of evaluation techniques and capabilities in order to test both against current hacking methods as well as exceed the abilities of hackers by always being on the cutting edge. This ensures Kudelski’s clients release products that are secure and launch with security that is sustainable over the lifetime of the product.
"There is no doubt that adding a digital voice assistant to your product has huge benefits, but it must be done securely in order to prevent privacy issues and breaches of customer trust if hackers strike. In reality, customers are becoming increasingly aware of security-related issues and are looking for products that guarantee the privacy and safety of their families, so we are happy to help implementers ensure that both their AVS integration as well as their entire IoT ecosystem are secure and robust against attack.”
Hardy Schmidbauer, SVP IoT for the Kudelski Group
“It is important to have both the right security expert within your company to establish secure design practices and an independent expert who can perform regular security assessments on production devices. We require device makers to submit a security assessment report before launch and every time there is a major change in the device software/firmware that triggers re-certification of your device.”
Amit Agrawal, Principal Engineer & Sr. Manager - Alexa Voice Services & IoT Security, on Amazon’s Device Makers Blog[3]
Kudelski IoT Labs provide services to support IoT device and ecosystem manufacturers throughout their entire product lifecycle. Services include Design Sprints, Threat Assessments, Device Design & Development, Security Architecture, Device & Ecosystem Security Assessments and ongoing Lifecycle Services. In addition, Kudelski IoT keySTREAM provides advanced security features like secure boot, zero-touch provisioning to cloud platforms, firmware over the air (FOTA) updates, end-to-end data encryption and command authentication.
Device manufacturers who wish to learn more about having their Alexa Built-in devices tested and certified by Kudelski IoT can use this contact form.
About Alexa Voice Services
The Alexa Voice Service is a cloud-based service that allows device makers to integrate an ever-increasing set of Alexa features and functions into a connected product. Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service, is available on hundreds of millions of devices from Amazon and third-party device manufacturers. With Alexa, companies can build natural voice experiences that offer customers a more intuitive way to interact with the technology they use every day. Amazon offers a collection of tools, APIs, reference solutions, and documentation to make it easier to build for Alexa.
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/973815/worldwide-digital-voice-assistant-in-use/
[2] https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/alexa-voice-service/avs-security-reqs.html
[3] https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/device-makers/2020/01/updates-to-device-security-requirements-for-alexa-built-in-products
Kudelski IoT is the Internet of Things division of Kudelski Group and provides end-to-end IoT solutions, IoT product design, and full-lifecycle services to IoT device manufacturers, ecosystem creators, and end-user companies. These solutions and services leverage the group’s 30+ years of innovation in digital business model creation; hardware, software and ecosystem design and testing; state-of-the-art security lifecycle management technologies and services and managed operation of complex systems. For more information about Kudelski IOT, please visit www.kudelski-iot.com.
The Kudelski Group (SIX: KUD.S) is a world leader in digital business enablement technologies that encompass digital content security, public access, cybersecurity, and IoT.
NAGRA provides end-to-end convergent media solutions to the digital entertainment industry including services and applications requiring access control and rights management to secure the revenue in digital television, internet, mobile and interactive applications.
SKIDATA is the world market leader in public access and visitor management with over 10,000 installations in over 100 countries, providing fast and safe access for people and vehicles.
Kudelski Security is an innovative, independent provider of tailored cybersecurity solutions to help enterprises and public sector institutions assess risks and vulnerabilities and protect their data and systems.
Kudelski IoT provides end-to-end solutions, IoT product design, and full-lifecycle services to IoT device manufacturers, ecosystem creators and end-user companies.
The Kudelski Group is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland and Phoenix (AZ), USA with offices in 32 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.nagra.com.
