Signify gains seal of approval for IoT lighting security

In a measure aimed at reassuring users that smart, connected lighting is safe from cyber hackers and privacy invaders, Signify announced that German testing company DEKRA has validated Signify’s IoT lighting as secure.

The security certification applies to the process that Signify uses to implement its Interact lighting schemes.

Interact is Signify’s line of Internet of Things (IoT) lighting offerings, in which companies and governments outfit lights and the lighting infrastructure with chips and sensors that collect data and send it to cloud databases for analysis that in turn improves the operations of buildings, roads, and public spaces.

IoT lighting systems are intended to provide a multitude of benefits. For example, they can reveal how to better assign space in a commercial and industrial buildings; they can track assets in an office, factory, or a hospital; they can provide indoor navigation; they can alleviate roadway congestion and monitor air quality; and they can help retailers direct shoppers to promotional items. And so on. IoT lighting also enhances lighting control capabilities.

Like much of the lighting industry, Signify is counting on widespread IoT lighting uptake for future growth. But as LEDs Magazine has reported many times, it has yet to take off in a big way, as has been recently illustrated by Osram.

One of the issues for the industry in general has been that users are concerned about security. Signify’s announcement of DEKRA security certification is intended to assuage that unease.

“Connected lighting systems are core to our business and our future,” said Harsh Chitale, business group leader in Signify’s Professional group. “This DEKRA certification is testament to our commitment to provide our customers with the most secure connected lighting products, systems and services. All of which are built on a strong foundation of industry standards, governance, and procedures. As a growing group of businesses and governments are implementing connected technologies, maintaining the highest standards of security are both crucial and invaluable to us.”

Signify CEO Eric Rondolat recently said the company would use the current global economic slowdown to help educate customers about the advantages of IoT lighting. The new DEKRA certification — the review would have started prior to the coronavirus pandemic — looks set to be part of that education.

DEKRA, based in Stuttgart, is a €3.4 billion ($3.7B), 95-year-old international inspection organization rooted in automobile testing but also very active in other areas including information technology, chemical and material safety, bicycles, and crisis management.

It examined Signify’s process using the IEC 62443-4-1 specifications from the International Electrotechnical Commission, a standards group based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“We are proud to award the IECEE CB and DEKRA SEAL certification to Signify,” said Bram Holtus, managing director of DEKRA Certification B.V. “As global partner for a safe and connected world, we know that security is key in today’s world. The IEC 62443 standards are the perfect tools to ensure safety and security at work, home, and on the road.”

DEKRA stands for Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Überwachungs-Verein.

MARK HALPER is a contributing editor for LEDs Magazine, and an energy, technology, and business journalist ([email protected]m).

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