DigiCert, Inc., a leading global provider of digital trust, and Macnica today announced they will provide public key infrastructure (PKI) to Panasonic Life Solutions India Private Ltd., one of the world's leading manufacturers of home appliances.  Together, they will introduce the first room air conditioner in India equipped with Matter 1.21, a common standard for smart homes.

As a novel common standard that enables seamless compatibility and secure connectivity between IoT devices within a smart home, the Matter standard provides the foundation for a smart home ecosystem where IoT devices from different manufacturers can easily work together to provide residents with a convenient new smart home experience. To establish secure connections in Matter, device certificates based on the security policy defined by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) are utilized, and each Matter-enabled product possesses a unique digital certificate2 to communicate only with secure parties. Each Matter-enabled product holds a unique digital certificate and communicates only with secure parties. As such, Matter requires the use of digital certificates for each IoT device to realize a secure smart home.

Selected by CSA as the world's first Matter Root CA, DigiCert supports the project with high security and support capabilities backed by professional experience and knowledge based on the company’s certificate business experience and wide adoption worldwide. Macnica, with its expertise in the IoT and IT domains, played an important role in the implementation of the Matter-compliant digital certificates at Panasonic Group’s production plant--from deal discovery and management through implementation and post-deployment technical support.

The certificates allow Panasonic room air conditioners to be seamlessly integrated into the Matter ecosystem, enabling users to control and monitor their room air conditioners from Matter-enabled devices such as smart speakers, smartphones, and tablets. The Panasonic room air conditioner series equipped with the Matter Protocol is available at all major retailers and e-commerce platforms in India.

“The security of Panasonic room air conditioners has been greatly enhanced by adopting the latest solutions from DigiCert, a leading provider of digital certificates, in addition to the security-oriented Matter standard. This allows consumers to feel more secure in the convenient and integrated living experience provided by Panasonic's smart home platform,” said Manish Misra, Chief Innovation Officer, Panasonic Life Solutions India. “We chose DigiCert's solution because of its high security and scalability for Panasonic, which manufactures not only room air conditioners, but also refrigerators, washing machines, and a variety of other equipment at its factories around the world. The highly reliable DigiCert solution has enabled us to start up production smoothly and trouble-free. The new room air conditioners have been well received by the market and production is steadily increasing."

“We are pleased to partner with Macnica and Panasonic Life Solutions India in revolutionizing the smart home landscape in India,” said Mike Nelson, Vice President of Digital Trust at DigiCert. “By providing DigiCert’s industry-leading PKI solutions, we are delivering robust security and seamless connectivity for Matter-enabled devices, empowering consumers to experience the utmost convenience and reliability in their smart home ecosystem.”

Panasonic will continue to leverage the high security and scalability of Matter-compliant DigiCert PKI and plans to gradually expand its Matter-enabled product models. 

Macnica will continue to support Panasonic's expansion of Matter-enabled products to the market. In addition to several Matter-related semiconductor manufacturers that Macnica handles, the company will also provide digital certificates from DigiCert to support Japanese companies in accelerating the release of Matter products in a wide range of smart home-related fields, including room air conditioners.

DigiCert will continue to develop solutions for various standards bodies, including Matter, and provides services that flexibly respond to the diverse security requirements of each country, region, and industry.

*1: A new common IoT standard for the smart home developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, a communication standards standardization organization in which more than 500 companies, including Apple, Google, and Amazon, participate. Compatibility with smart home appliances from different manufacturers will enable seamless integration and centralized control of devices, thereby contributing to further smart home convenience.

*2: Widely used across the internet for the purpose of secure communication and trust-based connections through Public Key Cryptography and digital signatures PKI. In Matter, in order to realize a smart home that implements high security and interoperability, the CSA has a defined policy built around device certificates that utilize PKI technologies.

All company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macnica, Inc. or their respective companies. Information in this news release (including product prices and specifications) is current as of the date of publication. Please be advised that the schedule is subject to change without notice.