Secure Elements (SE) in mobile phones are essential for safeguarding digital identities in an increasingly connected world. These specialized hardware components provide a hardware vault for storing and processing sensitive information, such as biometric data, cryptographic keys and payment credentials.
By isolating these critical assets from the phone's main operating system, secure elements greatly reduce the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access, even against physical attacks. This protection is vital in an age where our smartphones serve as gateways to personal, financial and sensitive online services, ensuring that our digital identities remain resilient against cyber threats.
To create a standardized framework for driving SE adoptions in emerging use cases, Google established the Android Ready SE Alliance in 2021. The alliance consists of a group of SE vendors partnering with Google to create a set of open source, validated and ready-to-use SE Applets based on Strongbox, Google’s hardware-backed Keystore for the SE. As an Alliance member, NXP Semiconductors supports the vision to enable Android phones, tablets and wearables to support digital car keys, identity credentials and more.
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“As mobile devices become the smart hub of daily digital life, implementing NXP’s silicon-based security solutions to enable Android Strongbox creates a highly protected environment for bringing new capabilities and secure services”
Jerome Legros, VP of NFC and eUICC
NXP has created a tamper-resistant, external hardware security module that OEMs can leverage out of the box to secure critical assets and protect user privacy on an Android device. Besides the secure storage of digital keys, identities and driver’s license, Android Ready SE enables continuous innovation of this hardware environment as the Android ecosystem evolves.
“We are excited about this milestone for Strongbox, which brings vault-like hardware protections to more Android users. By having Strongbox support on external Secure Elements (eSE), any OEM can easily provide tamper resistant protections for their users”
Bethel Otuteye, Senior Director, Product Management, Android Safety
Xiaomi’s latest flagship phone, the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra, are the first with eSE connected with NFC to embrace the power of the Android Ready SE. Based on NXP’s SN220 Family that unifies eSIM capabilities, a Secure Element and Near Field Communication in one chip, Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra owners can be assured that any of their mobile services are running on a genuine Android device. Furthermore, FIDO2 keys, which are known to provide a safer and easier alternative to passwords, can be stored on the secure element, adding even more convenience and peace of mind when using secure services.
"At Xiaomi, we prioritize user privacy and security in our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional user experiences. We are thrilled to unveil the integration of the NXP SN220 chip in our latest Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra. This collaboration with NXP underscores our ongoing efforts to enhance user privacy and security, reflecting our dedication to creating a robust digital environment for our users.”
Kuan Song, Information Security Director of Xiaomi Group.
With our digital identities moving more into our mobile devices, OEMs like Xiaomi are taking action to exploit the benefits of the tamper-resistant key storage for Android applications and are leading the way toward a more digital lifestyle.
Love Khanna has over 10 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and has worked in a variety of roles ranging from software engineering to product management. He is currently Senior Product Manager responsible for the NFC, Security, Platform and Ecosystem related activities.
