STMicroelectronics Gains First ISO15408 Certification

STMicroelectronics (Geneva) has become the first company in the world to be certified under the new ISO15408 standard, also known as the common criteria. The certification, which was granted to a level of EAL4 Augmented, was for the company's ST19 platform. The ST19 family of microcomputer-based Smartcard ICs employs state-of-the-art memory management techniques to allow the secure implementation of multiple applications on a single Smartcard. The ISO15408 standard was developed to harmonize three similar, but separately developed security evaluation criteria known as the Orange Book (USA), CTCPEC (Canada) and ITSEC (Europe). ISO15408 security evaluations are performed by independent, accredited Evaluation Facilities licensed by an appropriate Certification Body. The ST19 platform evaluation was performed by SERMA Technologies, based at Pessac, near Bordeaux, and the resulting certificate was awarded by DCSSI. "Although independent analyses have ranked the ST19 as the leading solution for secure implementations of cryptography and demonstrated its outstanding resistance to DPA attacks, ST is committed to the principle of formal security evaluation to international standards and we are proud that the ST19 platform is the first in the world to be certified to the new ISO15408 standard," said Maurizio Felici, vice-president and general manager of ST's Smartcard division.