International test house DEKRA has acquired Taiwan-based Onward Security as part of its goal to expand its portfolio in cybersecurity product testing and certification.
Onward Security focuses on cybersecurity compliance solutions for companies in IoT and industrial IoT device manufacturing, as well as automotive, industrial and medical industries, among others. DEKRA said that the company is a regional leader in IoT/IIoT cybersecurity testing and certification and that the acquisition furthers DEKRA’s “strategy to become the global leader in cybersecurity, testing and certification services.”
“Onward Security’s expertise and services are a perfect fit for our business, and we are confident the combined strengths of our two companies will enable us to boost our presence in the APAC region and to deliver even more valuable services to our customers globally,” said Mike Walsh, DEKRA EVP for the APAC region. “The increasing complexity of cyber threats, coupled with the need for businesses to have a trusted partner in cybersecurity, has made it a crucial area of investment for DEKRA.”
The purchase is the most recent one to bolster DEKRA’s cybersecurity-related services offerings. DEKRA bought Spanish cybersecurity company Epoche & Espri in 2017 and established its DEKRA Global Cybersecurity Hub last year.
Morgan Hung, co-founder of Onward Security as well as its chairman and GM, said, “We believe that our expertise in IoT cybersecurity will complement DEKRA’s already existing capabilities, to lead the way in developing IoT cybersecurity and providing our clients with first-class cybersecurity solutions.”
In other test news:
–Keysight Technologies says that its test solutions have enabled ArrayComm to land the first O-RAN Alliance certificate of conformance on fronthaul, for ArrayComm’s open distributed unit (O-DU). The certification was issued by the Asia & Pacific OTIC in China (APOP) and supported by Keysight Open RAN Architect (KORA) solutions.
–PCTel touted new public safety network testing capabilities this week at IWCE, saying that it is enabling the first automated uplink drive and walk testing solutions for P25 public safety networks. “The majority of public safety radio coverage issues occur on the uplink, which is the signal from a handset to the radio site,” the company said, adding that its solution is “the first to incorporate uplink measurements into a drive or walk testing system.” The outdoor uplink testing feature will be released in April and available as as update for PCTel’s SeeHawk Touch software.
“Until now, radio network managers had no practical or reliable way of testing the uplink channel across their coverage area,” said James Zik, PCTel’s VP of test and measurement product management. “This solution will help radio network managers deliver more reliable critical communications coverage for public safety and emergency response teams including police, fire, and EMS.”
–Rohde & Schwarz has expanded its radio frequency amplifier family with new 90-W models for its DCE and DE series. R&S said that the new BBA300 amplifiers offer 380 MHz to 6 GHz in one frequency band and up to 250 W of output power, designed to support use cases including electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and co-existence testing as well as component tests during development and production.
“Our users tell us they need extremely wide, continuous frequency bands alongside high linearity and excellent harmonic characteristics,” said Michael Hempel, product manager for amplifier systems at Rohde & Schwarz. “The BBA300 series is in direct response to these demands, providing outstanding frequency performance at a range of powers.”
–UL Solutions has bolstered its U.K. test lab in Basingstoke with a new wireless test chamber that can make measurements from 30 MHz to 18 GHz with changing configurations, more process automation and the ability to combine safety testing with EMC and wireless testing for connected lighting and appliances. The lab is already one of the largest independent testing labs for specific absorption rate (SAR) testing, UL Solutions said, and supports Wi-Fi 6E testing and certification and 5G testing in both sub06 GHz and millimeter-wave ranges.
With the expansion, UL Solutions said that the lab is “now one of the most extensive commercial EMC and wireless test laboratories in the United Kingdom.”
“By prioritizing our EMC and wireless investments to test a myriad of devices and equipment, we are advancing our capabilities with the fast pace of technological innovation—helping wireless technology manufacturers and their suppliers increase the interconnectivity of their products––safely and securely,” said  Phil Davies, general manager in Europe for the Consumer, Medical and Information Technology group at UL Solutions.
