PSA Certified is a security framework for the IoT sector. Initially introduced by Arm in 2017 as the Platform Security Architecture or PSA, it was designed to help developers build-in the right levels of security to connected IoT devices.
It has since evolved into a four-step process and, in 2019, six industry leaders joined Arm in founding PSA Certified. PSA Certified is a security framework certification program that demonstrates a commitment to security and alignment to worldwide requirements.
Since then, PSA Certified has seen global adoption and has defragmented security on a common Root of Trust, ensuring companies have the confidence to create innovative solutions without viewing security as an optional extra.
Explore the History of PSA Certified
April 2024
PSA Certified Level 4 iSE/SE and PSA Certified Level 3+SE are launched
PSA Certified Level 4 iSE/SE enables an integrated Secure Enclave or external Secure Element to be evaluated as having a “high” level of attack resistance to physical and software attacks. This can then be used in composition in a full PSA Certified Level 3 PSA-RoT evaluation to achieve a Level 3+SE certificate.
June 2023
Launch of PSA Certified 2023 Security Report
The PSA Certified 2023 Security Report focuses on how investment is on the rise as customers demand security, conversation shifts to align with regulation and how standards can build public trust.
March 2023
PSA Certified Level 2+SE is launched
This level recognises that many Root of Trust designs use a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) with a hardened trusted subsystem such as a Secure Enclave or Secure Element to protect high value assets from substantial physical attack.
January 2023
PSA Certified APIs Available on GitHub
Arm announces that they have opened contributions to PSA Certified APIs on GitHub. The APIs target security integrations for billions of IoT applications running on ultra-constrained devices typically powered by Arm MCU processors and provide open standards for more secure software development.
November 2022
PSA Certified Level 2 + Secure Element was Announced
The new PSA Certified level recognizes solutions with substantial physical protection for the cryptographic keys and cryptographic operations.
PSA Certified Firmware Update API
Arm announces the new PSA Certified Firmware Update API, an important milestone in helping the ecosystem to achieve firmware updates in connected devices, which is an increasing requirement in legislation.
March 2022
100 PSA Certified Products
In March 2022, PSA Certified celebrated surpassing the 100 PSA Certified products. These 100 products represent a proactive electronics community working to make the connected ecosystem more secure.
February 2022
PSA Certified is 3 Years Old
In February 2022, PSA Certified celebrated its third birthday. A great occasion to celebrate with the PSA Certified partners on the journey to building a more secure IoT.
November 2021
PSA Certified is Awarded Ecosystem of the Year
Together with our partners, we’re building a more secure IoT and it’s great to have our efforts recognized by achieving Ecosystem of the Year at the IoT Global Awards.
October 2021
PSA Certified celebrates over 80 certified products
With the majority of the world-leading silicon vendors supporting PSA Certified and a growing ecosystem of system software providers and device manufacturers, we are providing the confidence to create together.
February 2021
PSA Certified is 2 years old
We recap the momentum of PSA Certified since 2019, taking a look back at the certifications achieved, the growing ecosystem of partners and our continued efforts to align the industry across regulations, industry bodies, certifications and methodologies.
The first PSA Certified Level 3 achievements
We celebrated the first PSA Certified Level 3 certifications, showcasing protection from scalable software and hardware attacks.
Launch of the inaugural PSA Certified Security Report
The PSA Certified IoT Security Report takes a pulse point on where we are with security today and where we need to be, highlighting the importance of collaboration to bridge this gap.
October 2020
PSA Certified launches its first industry survey
With a mission to understand the key challenges and concerns of the industry, PSA Certified commissioned a survey tapping into the opinions of business leaders across the technology industry.
March 2020
PSA Certified Level 1 is updated to align with emerging standards and momentum continues with device level certifications
As new standards and legislation emerged, bringing new challenges to the industry, PSA Certified Level 1 was updated with mappings to requirements. This enabled the first wave of device manufacturers to gain widespread recognition and alignment with the world’s biggest markets.
February 2020
The first PSA Certified Level 2 achievements
The first silicon vendors achieve PSA Certified Level 2. PSA Certified Level 2 chips provide robustness against scalable, remote software attacks for devices through lab-based assessment of the PSA Root of Trust.
October 2019
PSA Certified passes the 25 products mark
PSA Certified Level 1 continues to gain momentum throughout 2019 and the first partners begin to work on their PSA Certified Level 2 certifications.
2018
The need to test and certify systems being developed to PSA specifications/standards is identified. Arm and industry leaders start developing PSA Certified – an architecture-agnostic evaluation and certification program, that encompasses an additional fourth step in the security framework – certify.
October 2017
Arm launches Platform Security Architecture (PSA) as a three-step framework – analyze, architect, implement – aimed at raising the standards of security across the IoT-device sector. The three-step framework offers freely available resources including threat models and security analysis documentation, hardware and firmware architecture specifications, and OS reference implementation code, APIs and an API test suite.
The Partnership Leading the Charge to Secure Digital Transformation
Our vision is for the IoT to be built upon devices with a certified Root of Trust, and for all connected devices to have demonstrable security built on common, best practice principles. Our partners and ecosystem are all taking proactive steps alongside external labs to demonstrate security robustness. They are leading the charge to make secure digital transformation a reality in the future.