This new TMC chip is the first Chinese-designed IC to achieve Common Criteria certification with this level of security assurance and SOGIS recognition in Europe. The certificate was awarded during the International Common Criteria Conference, which was held in Amsterdam on 30th October.
The new TMC chip is the first Chinese-designed IC to achieve CC certification with EAL5+ security assurance and SOGIS1 recognition. The European SOGIS recognition offers an additional guarantee of a product’s security through a mutual-recognition agreement between Europe’s main certification bodies.
TMC entrusted its CC evaluation to Applus+ Laboratories, who charged a team of Applus+ experts in Spain to conduct the process. The evaluation was validated by Spain’s National Cryptologic Center (CCN)’s certification body, which is responsible for the Common Criteria scheme in Spain. The certificate was awarded at a ceremony held during the International Common Criteria Conference, which took place in Amsterdam on 30th October.
The thorough Applus+ evaluation lasted seven months and was followed by a rigorous validation process on the part of the CCN certification body. As part of this validation process, Applus+ and TMC had to meet stringent requirements related to the reporting of the evaluation and its evidence.
This TMC IC is a multipurpose chip valid for use in payment, identification, telecoms and transport solutions, among a range of other applications. Common Criteria is the benchmark security certification in the majority of these industries.
Alongside the Common Criteria evaluation, Applus+ also assessed the chip’s security under EMVCo, the reference scheme for payment systems. EMVCo certification is a prerequisite for chips intended for use in credit cards and mobile payment systems, where they are embedded into smartphones.
About TMC
Tongxin Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (TMC) is a fabless chip design company focusing on smart cards and related technologies. It provides chip solutions in the fields of mobile communications, financial payments, identification, information security and IOT that are widely used in SIM cards, M2M devices, financial IC cards, mobile payment cards, social security cards, city cards, health cards, residence cards, SE cards, mPOS controllers, USB keys, contactless readers, etc. serving the global market.
1Common Criteria certification is recognised around the world through the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement (CCRA), but only up to Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 2. For higher-level evaluations, SOGIS, a European mutual-recognition agreement, was developed in Europe.