What’s the MATTER? Digital Trust & Smart Home Device Connectivity

I speak with tech leaders daily and one of the biggest issues that keeps them up at night is security. Are they operating at their highest level to mitigate risks? Are they adequately protecting the privacy of their users?

Particularly in the area of IoT and smart home automation, it gets complicated. The thermostat, lighting system, lock system, whatever it may be, not only needs to have seamless connectivity, but they must offer optimal security.

Luckily, some of the best minds in security are working together to set industry standards. I recently learned that around 300 and growing companies are participating in Matter, which is an industry-led effort of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (Alliance), bringing together the world’s leading manufacturers to achieve secure, reliable and seamless use of smart home devices.

Matter enables IP-based networking and communication across smart home devices, mobile applications and smart home ecosystems. Matter devices offer consumers assurances of secure use through a consortium-led standard for authenticating device identity that only allows Matter-certified devices to connect to the network.

In securing 28 billion transactions every day, DigiCert is a world leader in digital trust and has been heavily involved in Matter at the security layer for years. The company has contributed its expertise to help develop the attestation standard for Matter devices.

DigiCert offers a unique combination of technology and staff expertise to help device manufacturers gain efficiencies and achieve rapid time to market for Matter compliance. The company features its scalable, robust technology as a Matter Product Attestation Authority (PAA), which is another term for a root certificate authority (CA) trusted in the Matter root store. Companies partnering with DigiCert can use device attestation certificates and product attestation intermediate certificates to comply with Matter and gain the Matter seal on their new products. This system uses digital certificates that come from a PKI backbone that work together for seamless integration with Matter-compliant platforms and devices.

I was thrilled to have Mike Nelson, VP of IoT Security at DigiCert, join me on a livestream broadcast to unpack what Matter is working on and how DigiCert is playing a critical role. I hope you enjoy our enlightening conversation below.

You can also learn more here.