Worldline : leads at European level the M-Sec project, based on security mechanisms with multiple layers in the environment of smart cities

M-Sec is a European and Japanese initiative that seeks to develop and implement a secure platform that guarantees the authenticity and security of data obtained through connected devices (IoT)

Madrid, 10 December 2018, Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European market leader in payment and transaction services, has signed the contract for the realization of the M-Sec project - 'Multilayer security technologies to guarantee smart connected cities'. It is jointly financed by the research and innovation program Horizon 2020 of the European Union and by the National Institute of Information Technology and Communications (NICT) of Japan.

The main objective of the M-Sec project is the creation of an innovative and secure platform through the use of Blockchain, Big Data, Cloud and IoT technologies, which allows the creation of applications that involve decentralized peer-to-peer interactions between objects and people in a hyper-connected intelligent city context.

Boom of Internet of Things (IoT)

The concept of Internet of Things (IoT) was founded for the first time about 20 years ago by Kevin Ashton. However, only in recent years, has IoT become a reality on a large scale. The exponential growth of connected devices already exceeds the total number of people on the planet. According to different sources, it is expected that by 2020, the number of connected devices will exceed 30 billion, the equivalent of 4 devices per person.

IoT security poses new challenges

With the increase of connected devices, it not only opens a range of opportunities in terms of the amount of data generated by these devices, but also new challenges appear in terms of information security. The information gathered by these devices is a clear attraction for cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity has already become one of the biggest concerns worldwide.

M-Sec, the solution to security in hyper-connected smart cities

The main characteristic of M-Sec is to provide a platform that includes different layers of security to guarantee the confidentiality, authenticity and veracity of sensitive data at all levels of the process, providing an end-to-end solution. It is done in such a way that, in the hypothetical case that one of the security layers failed in an unexpected way, other layers of security are able to guarantee the privacy and integrity of the data. To do this, potential risks and threats of IoT devices will be analyzed, as well as advanced technological models in terms of IoT security, Cloud security, data anonymization, and Blockchain in the context of IoT, among others.

The results will be validated in six pilot use cases. For this, M-Sec has two cities; Santander (Spain) and Fujisawa (Japan), each of them recognized for having developed a long-term smart city approach.

The project aims to achieve a series of results that will provide added value for society:

1.A robust and reliable infrastructure that allows interested parties to develop, implement and operate new IoT applications on smart objects in smart cities.

2.An open market of IoT applications where objects and people can exchange value.

3.A sustainable ecosystem of stakeholders, roles, tools and infrastructures on which new participants and other actors can build and experiment with future application services.

4.Possibility of replicating the M-Sec model in any other country or city in the context of smart cities.

The project started successfully in July, for a duration of three years, with the participation of the European Commission, the National Institute of Information Technology and Communications and the following partners: Institute of Communication and Information Systems (Greece), the Commission for Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy (France), F6S Network (Ireland), Telematic Services Technologies and Systems (Spain), Santander City Council (Spain), Nippon Telegraph and telephone East Corporation (Japan), Keio university (Japan) ), Yokohama National University (Japan), the National Institute of Information Technology (Japan), Waseda Univeristy (Japan) and NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting (Japan).

According to Vanessa Clemente, European coordinator of the M-Sec project, 'The combination of the most advanced technologies will allow us to create an infrastructure that ensures the integrity of the information as well as its truthfulness and in turn creates an environment of trust between the interested parties in the context of smart cities '.

The M-Sec project is jointly funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (contract No. 814917) and by the Commission Research of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan (contract No. 19501).

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payment and transactional services industry. With innovation at the core of its DNA, Worldline's core offerings include pan-European and domestic Commercial Acquiring for physical or online businesses, secured payment transaction processing for banks and financial institutions, as well as transactional services in e-Ticketing and for local and central public agencies. Thanks to a presence in 30+ countries, Worldline is the payment partner of choice for merchants, banks, public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies, delivering cutting-edge digital services. Worldline's activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline and Mobility & e-Transactional Services. Worldline employs circa 11,000 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of circa 2.3 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company. worldline.com