STMicroelectronics partnered with indie Semiconductor to enhance in-car wireless charging privacy security

     STMicroelectronics, the world's leading semiconductor company serving multiple electronic applications, has launched the STSAFE-V100-Qi wireless charging security unit chip. When charging portable devices, the security unit enhances passenger privacy protection and data security. St also revealed that it is working with indie Semiconductor (NASDAQ: INDI), a company specializing in automotive semiconductors, to integrate ST's newly introduced safety unit into indie's Qi wireless car charger reference design.

     ST's new secure unit chip enables in-vehicle charging to comply with the Wireless Power Alliance's (WPC) latest specifications for secure charging with secure units. The chip has also obtained the EAL4+ certification, the highest security level of the Common standard (CC) applicable to Qi chargers, to ensure that the wireless charger has stronger information security protection.

     The test results prove that in security-focused applications such as bank cards, traffic cards, and identity protection, ST's security unit series chips can protect the secrets, integrity and authenticity of information and equipment, helping to optimize the charging experience and charging safety of end users.

     Security information parameters such as Qi certificates and keys are written into STSAFE-V100-Qi at the ST factory. In addition, the security unit supports secure boot, secure storage, and software security updates. These additional protection mechanisms strengthen the wireless charger's defenses against risks such as remote tampering, counterfeiting and copying. The new safety unit features software safety updates to ensure that the wireless charger remains highly secure throughout the car's life cycle.

     Fred Jarrar, vice president and general manager of the Power and USB product line at indie Semiconductor, said: "indie's advanced Qi wireless charging semiconductor solution enhances the in-car charging experience, bringing convenient, portable device charging capabilities to all models. ST's security unit brings a high level of cybersecurity protection to our reference design, brand protection for automotive customers, information security and electricity security for passengers, so that they can charge safely."

     Laurent Degauque, Director of Network Security Marketing at ST, said: "With the integration of the STSAFE-V100-Qi chip, this wireless charging reference design can meet the requirements of the latest WPC specification and the EAL4+ security level of the common standard, ensuring the charging safety of the maximum charging power of 15W. As a result, indie customers will receive a high quality charging system with the highest level of security."

     Technical details The ST Security Unit IC and security processor can complement or replace software-based security solutions, and hackers cannot fraudulently change hardware-based security features. These chips draw on ST's technical expertise, such as secure electronic key storage, accelerated encryption algorithms, secure software startup, secure firmware updates, and physical attack defense.

     Indie's reference design can accelerate the development of efficient and robust in-vehicle wireless charging systems. The reference design is based on indie's industry-leading semiconductor integration iND87200 wireless charging chip, which reduces material costs by nearly half compared to the device solution. In addition, the iND87200 simplifies the product's WPC Qi compliant design.

     ST's security unit prevents unauthorized access to application code, protects customers' intellectual property, and ensures end-user charging security and data privacy when charging. The reference design also incorporates ST's ST25R3920B vehicle gauge Near Field Communication (NFC) reader to handle device pairing and NFC card protection functions in the Qi charger.

     Special features of indie's iND87200 wireless charging chip include an integrated boost converter that maximizes the charging area, allowing the charger to always maintain a stable output of up to 15W. In addition, in addition to the typical voltage current measurement, the integrated advanced power sensing circuit can also monitor the system impedance and phase in real time. This advanced feature enables system designers to optimize coil tuning and charging algorithms to make charging smarter, for example, adaptive foreign object detection, which is not possible in less integrated designs.