Qualcomm announced the Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit, an on-die secure element recently launched as part of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform, has received Common Criteria EAL-4+ security certification, the gold standard for smart card hardware security assurance and testing.

The certification makes the Snapdragon 855 the first mobile SoC (System on Chip) to attain smart card levels of security assurance. The integrated Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit enables Qualcomm Technologies’ OEM customers to save on Bill of Materials (BOM) cost without sacrificing security and offers the performance and power improvements that come with integration into the leading process node.

In addition to these noted security features, the iSIM will enable provisioning of devices on any carrier network, in addition to automatic carrier switching ala Google Fi.

Examples of current Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit use cases include Android Strongbox Keymaster and Gatekeeper. On demonstration at Qualcomm Technologies’ exhibit at MWC Shanghai this week is another example of the certified Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit’s capabilities: an integrated SIM (iSIM) demo by Qualcomm Technologies and Gemalto, a Thales company. In the future, capabilities like offline payment, trusted platform module (TPM) functions, transit, electronic ID, and crypto wallets will be possible, all without the need of a discrete security chip.

“Completing the EAL-4+ security certification is a major milestone in our journey to bring smart card levels of security to our Snapdragon customers and users. Use cases that previously required separate security chips will now be possible fully integrated in Snapdragon 855 powered devices,” said Jesse Seed, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

The certification of the Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit has been approved by BSI (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik), the German Federal Office for Information Security.

THe Snapdragon 855 with the Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit has launched in flagship devices globally and is the first commercial mobile platform supporting multi-gigabit 5G, on-device AI and extended reality (XR) collectively.