Planar Meets Tight Cybersecurity Standards For Pair Of “Smart” Connected Display Families

May 8, 2024 by Dave Haynes

Security questions are now pretty central to planning and sourcing technologies for display networks, however the focus would quite logically be on the most obvious points of vulnerability – the software, servers and play-out hardware. But what about the displays, if they’re connected and termed as smart?

Specialty display manufacturer Planar has announced a couple of its higher-end LCD display series have been run through and been ETSI EN 303 645 certified. It is a cybersecurity certification from the European Telecommunications Standards Institute  (ETSI) based on meeting detailed cybersecurity standards for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Portland-based Planar says its UltraRes W Series ultra-wide format LCD display and Simplicity M Series 4K LCD display are its first commercial displays to get that certification.

Planar says ETSI EN 303 645 is the first globally applicable standard for consumer IoT devices. The standard is designed to prevent large-scale, prevalent attacks against smart devices by establishing a security baseline for connected consumer products, in addition to providing a basis for future IoT certification schemes.

Achieving this first-of-its-kind certification furthers Planar’s commitment to adapt products and processes to best meet product security needs of customers, reinforcing the company’s cybersecurity leadership for electronic commercial displays.

“With today’s rising use of IoT devices, cyber attacks can occur through display technology in a handful of ways and in response, we designed the Planar UltraRes W Series and Planar Simplicity M Series to achieve this rigorous certification and better protect customers from cybersecurity risks,” says Dez Moleski, director of product security at Planar. “These are our first LCD products to meet all aspects of the ETSI EN 303 645 standard. We’re proud to be a leader in developing more secure display technologies that offer customers peace of mind, in addition to reliability and superior visual performance.”

Planar has more about its product security efforts at www.planar.com/ProductSecurity.

I did a quick Google search to try and understand if this is a first more generally, or just for Planar. This stuff is way the hell over my head, but my searching didn’t reveal other instances of manufacturers with System on Chip displays having this certification.

That doesn’t mean others are necessarily vulnerable, though. Samsung, for example, has its own built-in security called Knox.

Announcements about security have grown common across the CMS software side of the business, with numerous companies attaining and announcing ISO 27001 and SOC2 certifications.