Pioneering the Future of IoT Security: Silicon Labs Achieves First PSA Certified Level 4 Product
Security is Foundational to the Future of IoT
At Silicon Labs, we don’t just believe in securing the Internet of Things… we believe in building it on a foundation of security. In a world of increasingly sophisticated threats, trust cannot be optional. It must be engineered into the silicon, the software, and the entire development lifecycle.
Since its launch in 2019, we have been a proud supporter of the PSA Certified framework, which introduced an essential industry-wide standard to measure and verify device-level security. The program outlines four progressive levels of certification, each reflecting a higher bar of protection:
| Level 1 | Baseline security, including threat modeling, secure boot, updates, and independent lab evaluation. |
| Level 2 | Protection against scalable software attacks using hardware-based isolation and trusted boot. |
| Level 3 | Adds defenses against physical attacks like fault injection and side-channel analysis. |
| Level 4 | The highest tier – resilience against sophisticated physical and side-channel threats, verified through intensive lab testing. |
Today, we are proud to announce that Series 3 Secure Vault on Silicon Labs’ SiXG301 SoC has earned the world’s first PSA Level 4 certification! This milestone represents not just a certification, but the realization of our vision: to make world-class security accessible at-scale for the connected future.
A Proven Track Record of Firsts in Security Innovation
Our achievement today builds on a long history of being first. For nearly a decade, we’ve led the charge in embedding security where it matters most: at the heart of the device. Here’s a snapshot of our groundbreaking journey:
Silicon Labs’ Timeline of Innovation:
2016: Lead Partner with Arm on the Cortex-M33, the inaugural M-class CPU with TrustZone.
2019: First to launch a wireless SoC with Cortex-M33, combining wireless and TrustZone for secure embedded designs.
2019: First wireless SoC to achieve PSA Certified Level 1.
2020: First to introduce Secure Vault™, delivering hardware-based key management, tamper protection, and secure boot in one integrated platform.
2020: First wireless SoC to certify to PSA Level 2.
2021: First chip to reach PSA Certified Level 3 — a landmark in defending against physical attacks.
2023: First to launch a security-enhanced RISC-V core, the CV32E40S, featuring architectural hardening specifically for security-focused applications.
2025: First chip to reach PSA Level 4, the SiXG301, featuring compliance while executing code from standard serial flash.
Each one of these innovations reflects our core belief: that IoT security must evolve faster than the threat landscape. And we’re committed to staying ahead.
Achieving PSA Certified Level 4: Raising the Bar Once Again
Attaining PSA Certified Level 4 is not merely about passing another benchmark. We are confronting the most advanced, real-world adversaries head-on. This certification affirms our platform’s ability to:
- Withstand complex physical attacks, such as microprobing and side-channel power analysis.
- Prevent and detect fault injection and voltage manipulation.
- Protect device secrets, even in hostile environments or high-value targets.
The evaluation process included extensive hands-on testing by an independent lab, Keysight Technologies, simulating highly skilled attackers with direct physical access. The result: Silicon Labs’ solution stood resilient, delivering assurance that developers and device makers can build on with confidence. PSA Level 4 isn’t just for niche use cases. It’s designed to future-proof systems in critical infrastructure, smart cities, medical wearables, industrial IoT, and connected energy systems – where resilience against physical tampering is essential.
With our certified technology, customers gain faster time-to-market with pre-validated security, peace of mind in meeting emerging regulatory mandates, and long-term resilience against evolving cyber-physical threats. Just as Secure Vault unlocked new possibilities in secure device provisioning and lifecycle management, PSA Level 4 unlocks the future of trusted embedded computing.
Raising the Bar for Global Compliance: PSA Level 4 and Regulatory Readiness
This milestone comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. Around the globe, governments and regulatory bodies are demanding stronger security postures from connected device manufacturers. Achieving PSA Certified Level 4 doesn’t just meet a high bar, it helps customers align with emerging security legislation that will define the next era of compliance.
In Europe, the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) are bringing security and privacy to the forefront of regulatory scrutiny. The RED Delegated Act, which goes into effect in 2025, mandates baseline cybersecurity requirements for wireless devices, including resilience against network attacks, personal data protection, and misuse prevention.
Similarly, the CRA is poised to reshape product development lifecycles across IoT and industrial tech, with mandatory security-by-design requirements, vulnerability handling processes, and post-market monitoring. Our PSA Level 4 certification provides a solid foundation to help device makers future-proof their designs and confidently navigate these evolving expectations.
To help developers stay ahead of these mandates, we’re offering hands-on guidance through webinars, technical docs, and real-time support from our security experts.
Trust and Privacy in a Connected World
Security is not just about preventing breaches; it is about enabling trust at scale. In an increasingly connected world, devices gather, store, and transmit sensitive personal and operational data. From healthcare sensors to smart meters and factory automation, privacy is a critical pillar of product design.
Silicon Labs' Secure Vault and PSA Certified architectures ensure not only secure boot and key storage, but also protection of sensitive data against extraction, manipulation, or exfiltration. With PSA Level 4, we extend this protection to the highest levels of physical resistance — ensuring that data remains private even in extreme threat environments.
Trust is earned. And for us, that means continuing to deliver the technology, transparency, and certifications our customers need to protect the people who rely on their devices every day.
Looking Ahead: From Leadership to Legacy
Security is a journey, not a destination, but today marks a major summit. With PSA Certified Level 4, Silicon Labs continues its leadership by setting a new ceiling for what’s possible in IoT security.
We remain committed to:
- Driving next-gen standards through open collaboration.
- Investing in hardware-rooted trust across all market segments.
- Empowering customers to build secure products without tradeoffs.
This milestone is more than a certification – it’s a signal of where the industry is headed and a promise to protect our customers.
Read more about how Silicon Labs is keeping IoT devices more secure.
