Welcome to OnBoard™ IoT Security

Overview

OnBoard™ IoT Security (OBIS) is an authorization-based security platform designed to address the fundamental challenge of scaling secure device provisioning globally while retaining OEM control over cryptographic trust. It is built to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and authorized use of product digital assets. OBIS is delivered as a cloud platform with flexible deployment options to meet different data residency and operational requirements. It is not a PKI service or a factory security system—it is a security control plane that governs how product digital assets may be used across the device manufacturing lifecycle.

Built on an authorization-based model with centralized control and distributed execution, OBIS enables OEMs to govern all product digital assets and every security-critical operation across any number of factories and partners, without ever exposing sensitive material.

This architecture enables OEMs to:

• onboard new factories
• switch production partners or silicon suppliers
• scale across regions

All while maintaining centralized control and monitoring. Rather than requiring factories to be trustworthy, OBIS makes trust unnecessary by design.

Product architecture

OBIS consists of three main components: Cloud, Edge, and Programming Station:

Components	Description
Cloud	OnBoard™ IoT Security includes: Core Secure Service, which is responsible for providing fundamental security services and management functions, including: Key Management System (KMS) Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Cloud Hardware Security Module (HSM) GlobalPlatform Certificate Authority (GPCA) Secure Element Management System (SEMS) Product Management Factory Management Production Record User Management U-Safe Management OBIS Web Portal: Users can perform product-related operations and management through the website, such as product management, factory management, user management, key management, and certificate management.
Edge	OBIS Edge Service: Provides on-site production management capabilities for factories. OBIS Edge Web Portal: Factory managers can manage on-site operations for factories visually through the website. Edge HSM: A hardware security device used on production line servers.
Programming Station	OBIS CLI (Command Line Interface), Programming Station Client UI, PPC (Programming Process Control) CLI, and Device Programming CLI are provided by the Client, which are used for executing device programming.

Core features

• Collaborative Digital Asset Management

  Configures and manages digital assets with the "Product" as the central unit, OBIS supports multi-role collaboration such as OEM and ODM. Role-based access control ensures the security of digital assets. Through product configuration and task management, OBIS enables full-process collaboration from modeling to pre-mass production. The main functionalities include:

  • Product modeling: Define and maintain basic product information and parameters.
  • Team collaboration: Invite multiple participants, including cross-tenant members, to collaboratively manage products.
  • Resource management: Unified management of resources such as chip parameters, matter configurations, firmware, certificates, and keys.
  • Production programming management: Standardize each production programming task through version control and batch management.

• Secure Provisioning

  Provides an end-to-end secure programming process from Cloud configuration to Edge execution, covering key writing, certificate generation, device programming, secure boot, secure debugging, and other critical steps, ensuring that each device's parameters and data are trustworthy and secure during the production phase.

• Device Lifecycle Management

  Supports continuous management of programmed devices, offering capabilities such as device status monitoring and secure firmware updates, enabling full lifecycle visibility, controllability, and traceability from production to deployment.

• Security Infrastructure

  Provides standard KMS and PKI services, along with GP CA certificate management for GlobalPlatform SCP11c and SEMS configuration asset management for Secure Elements. By integrating with Cloud HSM, it establishes a unified cryptographic security infrastructure and supports the deployment of distributed security services at the Edge (factory side), ensuring end-to-end security for OBIS.

OBIS Positioning and System Boundary

OBIS provides OEMs with a centralized control plane for product digital assets and authorization management—positioned between upstream silicon manufacturing and downstream device lifecycle management.

• Upstream: Trust Artifact Ingestion

  OBIS can receive trust artifacts generated during semiconductor manufacturing, such as hardware Root of Trust materials or initial device secrets injected by chip vendors. These artifacts are incorporated into the OEM's product security model and managed consistently alongside other product digital assets within OBIS.

• Manufacturing: Production Batch Execution

  OBIS issues explicit Production Batches to OEM-owned or partner-operated factories, defining what may be produced, where, when, and at what scale.

• Downstream: Trust Artifact Handoff

  OBIS collects all production outcomes—including per-device security artifacts and immutable production records—and hands them off to OEM-managed or OEM-authorized device management platforms, enabling secure device onboarding and supporting downstream lifecycle operations.

  OBIS is not a factory execution system, a device management platform, or a replacement for MES—it is a centralized product digital asset management and authorization-driven security governance layer—enabling OEMs to coordinate security across all manufacturing partners through a single control plane.

Role classification and permission description

Supports role-based permission management. The current roles are divided into three categories: OBIS roles, product roles, and factory roles. The following six tables describe each role and the corresponding operational permissions.

OBIS roles

OBIS roles are predefined by the system to meet common permission requirements. The following roles can accommodate most usage scenarios, and users can configure one or more roles as needed. For special permission control requirements, please contact Snowball to create corresponding custom roles.

Roles	Description
System Manager	This role has permissions for all roles.
Product Manager	This role has permissions to view and operate the Product Management functional pages.
Resource Manager	This role has permissions to view and operate the KMS and PKI functional pages.
SE Resource Manager	This role has permissions to view and operate the GPCA and SEMS functional pages.
Factory Manager	This role has permissions to view and operate the Factory Management functional pages.
Normal User	This role has permissions to view all functional pages.

The following table summarizes the access and operational permissions of each OBIS role across different functions.

Functions	Permissions	System Manager	Product Manager	Factory Manager	Resource Manager	SE Resource Manager	Normal User
Product	Page Access
	Page Operations
Factory	Page Access
	Page Operations
Records	Page Access
KMS	Page Access
	Page Operations
PKI	Page Access
	Page Operations
GPCA	Page Access
	Page Operations
SEMS	Page Access
	Page Operations
Account	Page Access
	Page Operations
Group	Page Access
	Page Operations

Product roles

Product roles are designed to control access and operational permissions of product resources. Users can configure one or more roles as needed.

Roles	Description
Product Owner	This role defaults to the product creator, with full operational permissions for the product.
Product Manager	This role has full access to all product operations.
Resource Manager	This role has permissions to view the product and manage its resources.
Version Manager	This role has permissions to view the product and manage its versions.
Batch Manager	This role has permissions to view the product and manage its batches.
Member	Default user role, with permission to view the product.

The following table summarizes the operational permissions of each role for the Product function.

Functions	Operations	Product Owner	Product Manager	Resource Manager	Version Manager	Batch Manager	Member
Product	Configure a product
	Check products
	Manage products
	Create a version
	Check versions
	Manage versions
	Create a batch
	Check batches
	Check programmed devices
	Check logs
	Manage members

Factory roles

Factory roles are designed to manage and handle factory-related business, and can be configured (local factory & cloud factory by users as needed.

Role	Description
Factory Admin	This role defaults to the factory creator, with full operational permissions for the factory on both Cloud and Edge.
Factory Manager	This role has full access to all factory operations on both Cloud and Edge.

The following table summarizes the operational permissions of the Factory Admin and Factory Manager on both Cloud and Edge.

Components	Functions	Factory Type	Operations	Factory Admin	Factory Manager
Cloud	Factory	Local factory & Cloud factory	Create a factory
		Local factory & Cloud factory	Configure and manage factories
		Local factory & Cloud factory	Configure and manage programming stations
		Cloud factory	Manage batches and assign programming stations
		Local factory & Cloud factory	Check factories
Edge	Factory	Local factory	Manage factories
	Station	Local factory	Configure and manage programming stations
	Batch	Local factory	Manage batches and assign programming stations