- At a time when billions of connected objects are reshaping industries, Thales has achieved an essential security certification for its eSIM solution, reinforcing its leadership in trusted connectivity management for the Internet of Things (IoT).
- The certification, granted by the GSMA under the eSIM Security Assurance (eSA) scheme, marks a significant milestone in enabling large-scale, secure, and efficient IoT deployments across industries including smart metering, healthcare, and automotive.
- This positions Thales as a trusted partner capable of providing full protection against advanced cyber threats — delivering end-to-end security solutions, from chip to cloud, and ensuring compliance with emerging security standards (e.g., the EU Cyber Resilience Act).
With over 5.8 billion IoT cellular connections expected globally by 2030 (GSMA Intelligence), businesses and industries face growing pressure to deploy connected devices at scale — securely and efficiently.
The SGP.32 IoT specification has been designed specifically to meet the unique needs of IoT devices by simplifying remote connectivity activation while maintaining high levels of trust.
And more specifically, the GSMA eSA certification ensures that the eSIM product (hardware, firmware, OS, and cryptographic libraries) complies with strict security and functional requirements, recognised across the global mobile ecosystem.
SGP.32 is a new standard that allows connected devices—like smartwatches, trackers, or medical sensors—to download and activate a mobile subscription directly, without needing a physical SIM card. Unlike before, these devices no longer require a smartphone or another device to help them connect to the mobile network. It also strengthens security by ensuring that the connection and credentials are protected from end to end, even during remote activation.
In other terms, obtaining this certification marks a key security milestone for Thales, as it serves as a globally recognized ‘seal of trust’ that helps IoT service providers, device makers and car manufacturers, select solutions that are secure, future-proof, and ready for rapid deployment. Indeed, this certification brings concrete benefits for ecosystem players:
- Operational efficiency: enables mass remote activation of eSIM-enabled IoT devices, reducing logistics, physical SIM handling, and field interventions.
- Security by design: ensures robust protection of credentials and connectivity data throughout the device lifecycle.
- User trust & privacy: builds confidence among end users by securing device identities and communication — essential for sensitive use cases like smart meters, medical devices, track-and-trace systems, security cameras or connected vehicles.
“In an IoT world that’s growing fast and moving even faster, trust and simplicity are key. With this certification, Thales continues to pave the way for secure, large-scale deployments of connected devices that are easy to manage and future-ready. It’s about removing friction, increasing security, and enabling innovation — at the speed the market demands,” commented Eva Rudin, VP Mobile Connectivity Solutions at Thales.
“With dozens of projects already underway with industrial and automotive players, we are confident that this move will further accelerate the adoption of eSIM technology among more than 100 of our customers — including mobile network operators, IoT service providers, automotive companies, and device manufacturers.”
