OSSA Moves to Safeguard Security and Automation Systems

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March 3, 2021

OSSA Moves to Safeguard Security and Automation Systems

The Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA), an industry body comprised of stakeholders from all facets of the security, safety and building automation space, has announced two important developments as part of its mission to pave the road towards trustworthy security and safety solutions.

First, a new specification is now available to members that focuses on camera cyber security measures. OSSA also introduces a new App Developer Council designed to attract and involve app developers in the Alliance’s ever-growing ecosystem of security and safety industry players.

The newest technical specification – the OSSA Camera Cyber Security Specification– contains definitions and guidelines regarding mandatory and optional security determinations for cameras. It is largely based on an existing standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), with an additional clear focus on the security market and OSSA philosophy by transparently dividing the roles and responsibilities between camera manufacturers, the operating system (OS) provider and the system-on-chip (SoC) vendor, in particular. The specification also prescribes responsibility changes in the event of individual OS modifications by camera manufacturers. The mandatory part of these guidelines will be used as input for the forthcoming OSSA certification framework.

“Although our Alliance is young, I’m continually impressed by member agility and a firm commitment to remove barriers and move the mark for the industry to all rise together,” says Johan Jubbega, president, Open Security & Safety Alliance.

“We’re steadily delivering on that vision: members have not only embraced the OSSA philosophy but already have actual hardware available in the market and a digital app store to source from. This has led to a new and natural connection with the app developer community. We’re advocating for truly open ecosystems not only within our specific security and safety sectors, but are now also broadening to cross-collaborate with other industries and stakeholder groups. I am convinced that the best is yet to come.”