Infineon leads the NFC security market: IMS

Infineon Technologies has emerged as the world's leading supplier of security microcontrollers for NFC (Near Field Communication) applications, according to a research study by IMS Research.

The current IMS Research study (January 2012) shows that Infineon holds a 51.5 percent share in the NFC security microcontroller market.

According to the company it brings the security functions for NFC applications to the mobile device in three ways- a NFC security microcontroller for the SIM card; via the embedded secure element forming part of the mobile phone electronics; and with a secure element which can be implemented in a microSD card.

IMS Research is the provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry.

Infineon offers NFC solutions that fulfill the strictest requirements for security microcontrollers, including the common criteria EAL 5+ ''high'' international standard and the EMVCo (Europay International, Mastercard, Visa) approval. They're suitable for all payment applications enabled by mobile devices over NFC, claims the company.

For some NFC security microcontrollers, the company uses its ''Integrity Guard'' security technology, developed specifically for applications such as mobile payment requiring a very high level of protection. With this technology, the data is stored in encrypted form and remains encrypted for processing along the entire data path- CPUs, memories, caches and buses.

''We are delighted at this leading position and at our customers' great trust in Infineon's NFC security chips. We are the only semiconductor manufacturer in the world to support all NFC business models with our broad portfolio of security solutions,'' said Dr. Stefan Hofschen, President of the Chip Card & Security Division at Infineon Technologies AG.

According to IMS Research data, the number of NFC-enabled mobile phones shipped in 2011 was 35 million globally and this figure is set to grow to 80 million by the end of 2012.