Switzerland-based blockchain and cybersecurity firm WISeKey has launched a new blockchain-powered digital identity solution to protect Internet of Things (IoT) devices and their data. The news was announced in a WISeKey press release on March 29.

WISeKey focuses on secure authentication and identification solutions for people and smart objects by implementing a cryptographic tool called Root of Trust (RoT). WISeKey IoT claims to have an install base of over 1.5 billion secure microchips across “virtually all IoT sectors” — from connected carts and smart cities to drones and crypto tokens. RoT, the press release claims, is currently embedded in 4 billion devices globally.

The new solution, dubbed SensorsID, will be issued under the WISeKey RoT and serve as a so-called strong digital identity solution that combines a blockchain platform with dual-factor authentication measures to better protect smart device identities and their data transactions.

SensorsID is a new device-focused identity solution that supplements WISeKey’s already existing solutions for personal and mobile digital identity — dubbed CertifyID and WISeID respectively. All three aim to enable strong authentication, digital signature and encryption.

The press release outlines that the SensorsID BlockChain can be operated at a local and national level between trusted parties.

WISeKey proposes that the combination of blockchain, IoT and robust security solutions can boost productivity across diverse industrial and consumer applications, as for example:

“An intelligent car with a system processing authenticated data for each of the vehicle components, being able to detect if/when different parts will require service and to digitally sign all the logs required to prove that service was provided. This platform can be used in [...] smart homes with connected appliances, and provid[e] critical communication between devices.”

WISeKey further outlines how its range of digital ID solutions and chips are designed to feature secure storage, cryptographic calculations and digital signatures for executing sensitive calculations, and to prevent device data — such as power consumption patterns or electromagnetic emissions — from being leaked to third-parties.

As recently reported, WISeKey opened a Blockchain Center of Excellence in Geneva this February, as part of a new partnership with the Blockchain Research Institute. The latter plans to open similar centers — each focused on assisting blockchain startups to expedite the technology’s adoption in the public and private sectors — across five continents.

WISekey also recently announced the opening of its Global Blockchain Center in Malaysia as part of a partnership with a subsidiary of Malaysian tech investment holding Censof.