The acquisition broadens Wind River's software portfolio with a system protection and anti-tamper toolset for Linux, a secure open source-based hypervisor, and a secure boot solution. Star Lab is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Wind River.
With the emergence of the connectivity associated with IoT and remotely monitored/autonomously controlled industrial and transportation systems, today's cyber threat landscape is evolving. Central to this is the ease with which a focused and resourced adversary can acquire and reverse engineer deployed embedded systems.
Specialising in cyber and anti-tamper security software for Linux, Star Lab provides embedded security for mission-critical systems, infrastructure, and equipment. Its solutions look to address security challenges across critical infrastructure, including proactive protection of systems, even during sophisticated and targeted attacks that breach traditional defensive mechanisms.
"The Star Lab offering is a perfect complement and extension to the Wind River portfolio, and addresses a growing trend where Linux cybersecurity and anti-tamper capabilities are becoming a requirement across industries such as aerospace, automotive, defense, and industrial," said Jim Douglas, president and CEO of Wind River. "Our customers want to create security-based differentiation in their product lines using a multi-layer security approach; by combining the security-and Linux-related strengths of both companies, we believe we will be able to deliver immediate increased value and a competitive advantage."
Star Lab's products are founded on a secure-by-design engineering philosophy, leveraging design patterns that reduce attack surface, isolate critical functionality and contain or mitigate even successful attacks. Its products, which are conformant with NIST 800-53 technical controls include:
- Security Suite: offers robust Linux cybersecurity and anti-tamper capabilities for operationally-deployed Linux systems and distributions.
- Embedded Hypervisor: designed specifically for use in open, hostile computing environments, the Xen-based hypervisor offers a secure open source virtualization solution for embedded mission systems.
- Secure Boot: a measured-boot solution ensures that a device’s firmware and boot code is legitimate and has not been maliciously modified or manipulated.
"With advances in technology far outpacing corresponding advances in security, the Star Lab security philosophy is to assume compromise and design a system that prioritizes protectability, resiliency, and recoverability," said Irby Thompson, CEO of Star Lab. "Like Wind River, the Star Lab portfolio was launched with the sole focus of building products that are uncompromising in their ability to protect mission-critical systems. Becoming part of the Wind River family will not only strengthen our value and offerings to our current aerospace and defense clients, but also allow us to scale to new opportunities faster, as well as expand our reach into new vertical markets."
