IPL’s WISeFarmers

Geneva-based WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SWX:WIHN.SW) and a group of entrepreneurs have incorporated a joint venture company, WISeKey India, to deploy WISeKey`s IoT and Cybersecurity platform for 140 million WISeFarmers in the Indian market.

WISeKey India benefits from the support of Indian Potash Limited (IPL) as both investor and partner following on the announcement made at the India Economic Summit in October this year.

IPL as minority shareholder of WISeKey India will facilitate the establishment of a WISeKey cybersecurity ecosystem to enable 140 million Indian farmers (WISeFarmers) to tune into the digital economy and IoT using the WISeKey platform.

The technology will trace the movement of a fertilizer bag from the factory/port until the doorstep of the farmer, thus sub serving the larger cause of direct benefit transfers actively under consideration of the Government of India.

The WISeKey India agreement with IPL includes the localization of WISeKey’s Cybersecurity platform in India to serve several markets such as the IoT, Cybersecurity and authentication of objects.

The WISeKey India Joint Venture includes the development of a full Root of Trust and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for WISeKey India including a globally trusted Certification Authority under the “Digital India Vision,” an Indian government campaign that takes major initiatives to make the country e-ready.

As per the JV terms, WISeKey India will create a WISeKey Cryptographic Root of Trust in India for IoT manufacturers and chipmakers allowing them to add digital certificates on their chips at the hardware level to encrypt the communication and authenticate the devices.

The first project with IPL is already under development for the use of semiconductor IoT chips and Asymmetric Keys to authenticate a very large number of products to be deployed in the country and will be delivered during 2017, leading to consolidated revenues of WISeKey of at least CHF20m in 2017.

During the course of 2017, WISeKey NFC semiconductor chips with the WISeKey Identity will be delivered to IPL to distribute to the 140m WISeFarmers. Such chip is then to be inserted into the handsets of WISeFarmers without any tailored adaptation required.

WISeKey India will also deploy a private-label mobile application and service platform that provides Near Field Communication (NFC) payment functions, pre-paid services capabilities, e-coupons, targeted advertising, as well as the management of and access to personal data by users.

The IPL platform will also provide real time traceability to all products produced and distributed by IPL such as fertilizer bags as every object will have a digital certificate of authenticity.

It is based on the principle of the traditional paper-based certificate, but instead of using a forgeable piece of paper, a non-duplicable digital certificate is stored on a cryptographic chip or Intelligent Trusted Code embedded into the Fertilizer Bag.

This allows manufacturers, distributors or resellers to directly engage with the WISeFarmer to prove the authenticity of the items to their customers, and of course, for the customers to securely engage with IPL and their ecosystem over the Internet. fii-news.com