Embedded Systems Conference, Booth #936, San Jose, CALIF., March 31, 2009 — QNX Software Systems today announced that the QNX® Neutrino® RTOS Secure Kernel v6.4.0 has been certified to the stringent Security requirements of the Common Criteria ISO/IEC 15408 Evaluation Assurance Level 4+ (EAL 4+).

The QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel marks two industry firsts: it is the only full-featured RTOS to achieve Common Criteria certification, and it is the only Common Criteria-certified RTOS to implement symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and bound multiprocessing (BMP) for multi-core processors. As a result, it is the only certified RTOS to support the parallelism necessary for successful multi-core designs.

The QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel is also the only Common Criteria-certified RTOS to support adaptive partitioning, an efficient form of time partitioning that prevents malicious code and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks from monopolizing the CPU.

The QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel is the latest QNX initiative to provide customers in the defense, industrial, automotive, and medical industries with standards-based, certified products that provide assured levels of portability, interoperability, and security. Often, these products help customers succeed in their own certification efforts. Case in point: The QNX-based Falcon III AN/PRC-152(C) Military radio from Harris is the first device to be certified as fully compliant with version 2.2 of the Software Communications Architecture of the U.S. military’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS SCA).

The certification to Common Criteria EAL 4+ indicates that the QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel exceeds the assurance requirements required for EAL 4. To earn EAL 4 certification, a product must be methodically designed, tested, and reviewed to the highest commercial standards. The "+" indicates that the certification extends to QNX Software Systems’ vulnerability remediation process. Certification to EAL 4+ required a rigorous analysis not only of the QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel, but also of the development processes used to create it.

The QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel was certified by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), one of the global signatories to the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation, an international standard agreed to by the United States and 23 other nations. The Common Criteria establishes standards for security functionality, security assurance, and security evaluation.

“By its very design, the QNX Neutrino microkernel embodies the principles of security that form the basis of modern security standards, including the Common Criteria,” said Kerry Johnson, director of product management, QNX Software Systems. “Certification to EAL 4+ confirms our commitment to addressing today’s security requirements. Including multi-core and partitioning capabilities in the QNX Neutrino RTOS Secure Kernel confirms that we are equally committed to addressing tomorrow’s design challenges.”