Kaspersky's new embedded system and IoT platform is go, launching for OEMs, ODMs, systems integrators and software developers to build and run their applications in a secure environment.
KasperskyOS, as it has been called, works by only allowing documented operations to run. A developer must create their applications using traditional code and at the same time, define a strict security policy to include a range of documented functionalities.
In order to work, only the processes defined by the policy will be executed, including the functionality of the operating system itself.
KasperskyOS has been in development for 15 years, originally being conceived to prevent the execution of undocumented functionality in devices. The company's research revealed it was hard to implement such requirements in a conventional, general purpose operating system.
"To address this we chose to build our own OS that follows the universally embraced rules of secure development, but also introduces many unique features, making it not only secure, but also relatively easy to deploy in applications where protection is needed the most," Andrey Doukhvalov, head of future technologies and chief security architect at Kaspersky Lab, said.
Because of the way the operating system works, developers must be particularly accurate when developing applications. If there are any errors, these will be classed as undocumented functionalities and will be blocked by the OS.
"We understood from the very beginning that designing our own operating system would be a huge undertaking a project that would require vast resources for many years before it could be commercialised," Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of the company, added.
"Today we see clear demand for strengthened security in critical infrastructure, telecoms and the finance industry, as well as in both consumer and industrial IoT devices."
He said that at the beginning of the project, it was a risky investment because other security vendors hadn't even considered making it a reality.
"But today, thanks to our efforts, we have a product that provides the maximum possible level of immunity against cyberattacks a product based on principles that can be verified independently."
